


Silver Waters

by Wolfy_Queen



Series: Silver Waters Series [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Bay Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Background Relationships, F/M, Psychic Bond, Waterbending & Waterbenders, romanogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-03-19 13:46:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 27,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13705689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfy_Queen/pseuds/Wolfy_Queen
Summary: Kya Milani can bend and manipulate water. Her abilities are what drove her from her home. She fought for the family that took her in, Pietro Maximoff fought to destroy them.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Seychelle Gabriel as Kya Milani/Tsunami 
> 
> Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver 
> 
> Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch 
> 
> Age of Ultron Cast as Themselves

**-Fourteen years ago-**

Kya Milani breathed heavily as she forced herself to keep walking. She was going to do it. She's was actually leaving the only home she's ever known.

Why was she leaving?

Oh, that's right. Her teacher was a traitor to the entire island.

Kya was the top bender in her class. She even surpassed some of the older students. Her teacher, Senna, began giving her private lessons. Senna taught Kya more about water than the creators of the island could have ever imagined.

Unfortunately, the material that they used for bending became something Kya dreaded.

So she ran.

Before she left her home, she left a note for her mother and siblings on the kitchen counter.

 

_**Don't** **trust** **Senna** **.** **I** **love** **you** **all** **.** _

_**-** **Kya** _

_This_ _is_ _for_ _their_ _own_ _good_ _._ _Remember_ _what_ _Senna_ _told_ _you_ _she_ _would_ _do_ _to_ _them_ _if_ _you_ _refused_ _to_ _do_ _what_ _she_ _said_ _._

As Kya continued her trek, she went over

her plan in her head.

 _Get_ _to the_ _docks_ _,_ _steal_ _a_ _boat_ _,_ _use_ _your_ _bending_ _to_ _get_ _yourself_ _to_ _the_ _mainland_ _._ _Easy_ _enou_ -

The ten year old became aware of footsteps running after her. She opened her water-skin and whipped around ready for a fight.......

And came face-to-face with her mother.

Kya dropped her stances and stared wide-eyed. "Mom?"

Kauna Milani quickly wrapped her daughter in a tight hug, knowing very well it could be the last time they saw each other.

"Be careful."

Blue eyes stared up at identical blue eyes. "You knew that Senna-"

Kauna nodded. "I had a suspicion that Senna was bending the forbidden water. But, because of her hold on the community, it will be difficult to turn everyone against her."

Kauna gazed at her daughter's face before gently brushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear.

"Be careful, my moon."

Kauna reached into her pocket and pulled out a small vile attached to a necklace. Kya stared wide eyed at it.

"Mom how-"

The older woman's smile was almost smug. "Your Grandmother wishes you luck. She said that going to the outside world is your destiny."

Kya gently took the vile with her fingertips. The vile contained water from the oasis in the middle of the island. The lifeblood of the island. It's rumored that with the waters, one could save another from the hands of death. Her Grandmother was on the council of elders, giving her access to the oasis.

The ten year old placed the vile/necklace around her neck before looking at her mother and giving her another hug.

"I'll find a way to talk to you when I can."

Kauna gave her daughter one last squeeze before letting her go. "Be safe."

Kya smiled sadly at her mother before turning around and started running for the docks.

She threw her backpack in a boat and used her bending to push herself away from the only home she's ever known.

_New life here I come._

**-Two months later-**

"COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

Kya ran as fast as her legs could carry her. For the past two months she's been stealing food to feed herself. So far, she hasn't been caught.

Until now.

Some thugs caught her stealing some fruit from them. Now she finds herself running through the streets of Budapest.

She ducked in the alleyway, hoping to lose her pursuers.

No luck.

She slowly backed away as they started to corner her.

"We'll teach you not to steal from us."

Kya backed up a little more before discreetly slipping her hand behind her and opening her water skin.

One of the thugs saw the movement and narrowed his eyes. "What are you-"

Kya bended a stream of water out before whipping one of the thugs in the eye. As he yelped and stumbled back in pain, and wrapped a tendril of water around another's ankle and yanking him upwards.

As soon as the others got over their shock, they charged at the young girl. She gave the fight her all, not stopping until they were all on the ground.

Or so she thought.

She heard something click behind her.

"Don't move."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw more thugs in the mouth of the alleyway. Her ocean blue eyes widened when she saw the thug in the lead had a gun pointed at her.

The thug smirked. "Hold sti-"

An arrow suddenly flew out of nowhere and hit the ground in front of the group. It beeped for a bit before it exploded, sending the thugs stumbling back. Two people, a man and a woman, jumped from the rooftops and landed in front of her.

 

The man smirked. "That's no way to treat a lady."

He looked at his red head companion. "You want them?"

The woman looked over the thugs hauled themselves up. "There's enough for both of us.

Kya hid behind a dumpster as the man and woman took down the thugs. She marveled at the way they fought. They rivaled that of any chi-blocker.

She hid further behind the dumpster when she realized the fight was over.

"It's okay, they're gone."

The ten year old peeked from around the corner of the dumpster. The man was crouched a few feet in front of her with the woman standing next to him.

"My name's Clint, and that's Natasha."

Kya edged from behind the dumpster. "My name is Kya."

Natasha gave her a tiny smile. "Can you show us what you did to them?"

Kya gave them a shaky nod before bending what water she had left in her water-skin out.

Clint furrowed his eyebrows. "Is that why they were chasing you?"

Kya shook her head as she edged a little further from behind the dumpster. "No. I stole some fruit from them."

At the mention of hey bounty, her stomach rumbled and she realized she lost the bag a while back.

Natasha raised an eyebrow when she noticed how thin the little one was. "When's the last time you had a proper meal?"

Kya's face was somber when she remembered eating with her family. "Two months ago."

Clint and Natasha shared a look before looking back at her and smiled. "Come on."

Kya furrowed her eyebrows. "Where?"

Clint grinned. "Dinner. We're buying."

And so began Kya's life in S.H.I.E.L.D.


	2. Chapter 2

Kya sat silently in a corner of the crowded room that Clint and Natasha brought her to after buying her dinner two days ago. The people in the room were dressed similar to Clint and Natasha. Only difference was, most of them were hurt.

There weren't enough doctors, so at least a quarter of the ones injured. An idea formed at the back of Kya's young mind. Gently standing from the box, she walked up to the nearest agent - a man - and discreetly opened her water-skin.

"Where does it hurt?"

The agent looked up at the tiny, bell-like voice that addressed him. He was surprised to see a tiny wisp of a girl with huge blue eyes looking at him curiously.

She repeated her question. "Where does it hurt?"

The agent anwsered cautiously. "My ribs are broken."

Kya nodded before reaching up and unzipping the upper half of his suit. Assessing the injuries, she found he also had a 6-inch deep cut near his shoulder. Bending the water to glove her hands, Kya set to work healing the agent's injuries. She moved her hands up and down like the healers at home showed her, making sure to attend to every other injury.

As she worked, she didn't notice that she had gained an audience.

When she finished, she gave the agent a bright smile. "I'm finished."

The agent sat up and was surprised when he didn't feel any pain.

Kya answered his confusion. "Your ribs are going to be sore for a while and the cut near your shoulder will be tender for some time."

She gave the agent one last smile before turning around and was going to go back to her corner, but came face-to-face with Clint and Natasha.

Clint looked intrigued. "How'd you do that kid?"

Kya bended the water back into her water-skin before hiding her hands behind her back. "Um,,,"

Natasha crouched in front of Kya and gave her a small smile. "You're not in trouble. But if your bending can help us in any way, we need to know."

Kya took a deep breath before letting her hands fall to her side. "Some water benders have healing abilities. I found out I could bend when I was five, and started training in both healing and fighting."

Natasha and Clint shared a look before leading Kya to another agent.

"This woman's leg is broken. Can you heal it?"

Eager to help in any way she could, Kya quickly bended the water out of her water-skin and set to work mending the bone.

This continued for hours. Clint and Natasha would show her to an agent and Kya would heal them. Some injuries were worst then others, but she healed them all to the best of her abilities.

Kya talked to the agent's while she healed their injuries. She made them laugh and smile with her childish view on life.

When they left Budapest a few weeks later via quinjet, Kya was fast asleep with her head in Natasha's lap.

Clint looked at the sleeping ten year old out of the corner of his eye from his position in the driver's seat.

"So,,,, do you think Fury and Colson will like her?"

Natasha brushed a lock of silver hair out of Kya's face and looked up. "Are you kidding? Colson and Maria will fall in love with her the moment they look at her. Fury will take a little more time, but he'll crack eventually."

Natasha looked at the sleeping child in her lap before looking back at Clint with a tiny smirk. "From what you've told me Laura's already head over heels for her."

Clint chuckled. "She was ecstatic."

**-Time Skip-**

Kya was awake when they landed on the hellicarrier. Clint landed the Quinjet before turning around to look at the small waterbender.

"Okay Kiddo, it's time to meet some new friends."

Kya shuffled her feet nervously. "What if they don't like me?"

Natasha wrapped Kya in a one-armed hug and smiled reassuringly. "They'll love you just like we do."

With that being said, the trio walked out of the Quinjet. Kya ran to the edge and stared out at the clouds. The last time she was up this high was when she was riding a sky-bison with her friend Miwa on the Air Island.

Nat joined her on the edge of hellicarrier. She gave the ten year old a smile before guiding her away.

"Come on, it's time to meet Director Fury."

**-Time Skip-**

Natasha was right.

Maria and Colson loved Kya right away. And she immediately loved them right back. Even though Clint sent a message to Fury telling him about Kya's abilities, he wanted to see what she could do. But, at Colson's insistence, she was to get a full night of sleep first.

Kya held onto Natasha's hand tightly as she led her through the hellicarrier to her new living quarters. She couldn't help but stare at the technology she saw. Sure, there was technology back home on the island. But it was nothing compared to what she was seeing.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when Natasha suddenly stopped in front of a door.

"This is where you'll be staying. My room's right next door if you need anything, okay?"

Kya nodded before looking back at the door. When she opened it, Natasha turned and walked towards her own room. Kya looked into the room before looking back at Natasha. The little water bender ran to the older woman and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Thank you for bringing me here."

Natasha was shocked by the affectionate gesture. Her shock wore off as she kneeled down and wrapped her arms around the little girl.

"You're welcome."

**-** **Time** **Skip** **-**

After eating breakfast the next morning, Kya was led to a large room where three large containers were filled to the brim with water and was left alone. She saw Clint, Natasha, Colson, Fury, and Maria above her behind a glass window. Just like she did back home, she folded her arms behind her back and awaited instructions.

She heard Clint's voice project from a speaker. "Alright Kiddo, we want you to show us what you can do before we let you fight something, okay?"

Kya nodded. Thinking about what she was going to do, she looked back up at her audience.

"Can you please put a plant of some kind in here? Please?"

Kya waited patiently as they did as she asked in a confused manor. Taking a deep breath, she bended some of the water out of one of the containers. She went through every beginner moves she knew before going to the more advanced things.

She pulled the moisture out of the air and out of the plant, she created a wave that carried her across the room, turned some of the water into ice and snow, Kya showed them everything.

Except the reason why she left home.

Not that she could anyway, it wasn't a full moon.

They put some sparring-bots that were set on easy in the room with her. As she fought with skills that were clearly beyond her years, Natasha couldn't help but think of herself at the age, fighting with that kind of skill set.

And - from the stories Kya told her and Clint - forced to grow up before she was ready to.

After the little water bender destroyed each and every robot, she followed an agent back to the others with a few bruises, a shallow cut on her shoulder, and a slight limp.

**-Time** **Skip** **-**

Kya took a deep breath as she faced the targets that Clint set out. With Clint watching her, she created an icicle from the moisture in the air and shot it at a target.

It hit the target about a foot from the center.

Clint nodded approvingly. "Not bad kiddo."

Kya looked at Clint and then back at the target with a slight dismayed expression. Clint walked behind Kya and angled her shoulders until they were straight with the target.

"Keep your shoulders leveled, and your feet planted."

Kya did as she was told.

"Focus on the target."

The ten year old kept her eyes on the middle of the target.

"Deep breath."

Kya inhaled deeply before letting it out.

"And shoot."

The little water bender once again created an icicle from the moisture in the air and fired it at the target. This time, it hit smack-dab in the middle.

Kya smiled. "I did it!"

Clint clamped a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it proudly. "Atta girl!"

Kya looked back at the target before looking back at Clint, her smile growing bigger as she did.

**-** **Time** **Skip-**

"There are four islands about a hundred miles off the coast of Alaska protected by ancient magic. I was born on the Water Island, obviously."

Kya was seated across from Fury and telling him about her home island and the neighboring islands that housed other benders.

"To the east is the Earth Island, where most earth benders live. To the west is the Fire Island, where most fire benders live. And to the south is the Air Island, where most of the air benders live."

Fury looked intrigued. "You said where most live..."

Kya shrugged. "Sometimes they'll move to a different island."

The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. nodded. "Is everyone a bender?"

The ten year old shook her head. "No. I think that only half of the island are benders while the others aren't. They co-exist peacefully though."

Fury nodded. He was about to continue his questioning when Kya yawned and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"We'll continue this later. For know, get some sleep."

Kya nodded before hopping off the chair and started walking toward the door. It's been a few weeks since Kya came to the hellicarrier, she no longer needed an escort in case she got lost.

"Mr. Fury?"

Fury looked up at the ten year old.

"I would prefer that my home and the other islands stay hidden. Please, please don't put that information in your computer."

Fury was surprised to say the least. This girl was only ten years old, and she knew that she needed to keep her home island and the islands surrounding it safe. Fury knew how ugly the world was, and from Kya told him, how innocent the islands were. The world wasn't ready for that innocence.

Not even close.

The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. nodded. Trusting him, Kya smiled before walking back to her room.

Fury looked back at his computer screen. Sighing, he deleted all the information that Kya have him from all computer records.

**-Time** **Skip-**

Kya was seated across from Colson and Maria at a diner in New York a couple days later trying her first burger.

"I thought you said the islands were caught up with things from today."

Kya looked up with her cheeks bulging. After she swallowed, she nodded. "We are. We make burgers with steal meat though. _These_ are life changing."

Colson and Maria chuckled and nodded in head in agreement. They and Kya have been touring the city. And they were having a grand time.

After paying, the trio walked out into the sidewalk traffic.

Maria fixed Colson with a look. "Alright, shoo!"

Colson pouted. "Why?"

Maria put her hands on her hips. "Because Fury called you in and it's Girl Time. Now shoo!"

Kya giggled and gave Colson a hug before he left. Twenty minutes later, Kya and Maria were at a salon getting their toe-nails done.

Kya sighed happily and reclined back in the arm chair. "I could get used to this."

Maria chuckled lightly. "Agreed."

**-Time Skip-**

Kya sighed as she held the delicate vile filled with the spirit water from the oasis back home.

"I miss you mom."

A knock on the door broke Kya out of her thoughts.

"Kya?"

The ten year old tucked the vile back into her shirt. "Come in Natasha."

The red head opened the door and walked in. She raised an eyebrow and smirked at Kya's deshelved appearance.

"Need help?"

Kya giggled and nodded. Natasha sat down and started braiding the little waterbender's silver hair.

"Feeling home sick?"

Kya sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Even though I have more than one reminder."

She pulled the vile out from her shirt. Natasha looked at it thoughtfully.

"What's that?"

Kya fingered the vile delicately. "It's water from the Spirit Oasis back home."

"Spirit Oasis?"

"It's at the center of the island, it's the lifeblood island. All four islands have one. My mother gave it to me. Moments before I left."

Detecting the somber-ness in her tone, Natasha stopped braiding and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. The pair was silent for a while. Kya handed Natasha a hair-tie.

"Hey."

Kya leaned back against Natasha to look her in the eye.

"You'll be okay. You have me, you have Clint, Fury, and Maria. We all care about you."

Kya turned around and wrapped her arms around Natasha's neck.

"I care about you guys too."

The red head smiled and hugged Kya back. Vowing to train and protect her to the very end.


	3. Chapter 3

**-Flashback-**

_Kya took a deep breath as she zipped up her suit. It was a similar version of Nat's, but the material was slightly different. It was designed to absorb the water, but the water in her suit was only for a last resort only._

_She was sixteen years old, and it was her first mission. It was just a simple escort mission, but that didn't stop her from being nervous._

_A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts. Kya looked up and saw Natasha._

_The red head smiled comfortingly at the girl that she's has been training for six years. "You'll be fine,_ ребенок паук _."_

_Kya smiled uneasily. "I know,  Мамочка паук."_

_Natasha smiled at the nickname. They started calling each other those nicknames a few months after Kya started learning Russian when she was twelve._ ребенок паук _meant Baby Spider and_ _Мамочка паук_ _meant Mama Spider._

_Fury's voice on the intercom brought the waterbender and her surrogate mother back to reality. "Agent Romanoff, report to Air Hanger for take off."_

_Natasha smiled and pulled Kya into a hug. "I'll see you when you get back."_

_Since Kya Milani didn't exist in any official records and_ _since she was still a minor_ _, S.H.I.E.l.D. had to create a different identity for her. Officially, her name was Kya Romanoff, per Natasha's request._

_Turning around and taking another deep breath, Kya left for her first mission._

**-End of Flashback-**

The silver-haired waterbender shot out of her memories and used a water whip to fling an enemy soldier away from the jeep Natasha was driving and the back that she and Clint were occupying. This was the last Hydra Base, and with luck, the place that was holding Loki's scepter.

Clint, noticing that Kya was slightly distracted, looked at his surrogate daughter out of the corner of his eye. "You okay there Tsunami?" **(Author's Note: What do you guys think of Kya's Hero name?)**

Kya shot an icicle at a soldier that was tailing Cap's motorcycle. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Looking at her surrogate father, she spotted a soldier aiming at Clint over his shoulder. Quickly created a bow and arrow out of ice - something she and Clint perfected when she was around nineteen years old - she drew back using the moisture in the air and fired. Clint turned around just in time to see it hit the solider dead in the chest.

"That's my girl!"

Kya smiled. Moments later, Natasha's voice cut across the gunshots and shouts. "Get ready!"

Kya looked up and saw the barricade coming up. Quickly closing her waterskin, Kya braced herself and jumped when the car hit the barricade. Falling into a graceful role, Kya quickly stood up and created a wave and used it to force the soldiers away. Seeing more coming, she created octopus arms and used them the fling soldiers away and took their weapons.

  
"Kya, give me a boost!"

Quickly dispatching a soldier, Kya slammed her palms into the ground and created and ice pillar that launched Nat to the top of a lookout. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tony fly toward Struker's castle, only to be deflected back by a blue shield

"Shit!"

Kya recognized Steve's voice as it followed quickly after. "Language!"

The waterbender giggled as she trapped an enemy soldier using icicles.

  _Big mistake Cap.... Now Tony's never gonna let that go._

"Jarvis, what's the view from upstairs?"

The robotic voice of Tony's loyal AI flowed across the com-link system. "The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield.  Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we have taken."

Kya created a bow and arrow out of ice again and fired at a group of soldiers on a lookout. "Loki's scepter must be here then."

Thor grunted followed by a crash seconds after. "Kya's right. Strucker couldn't mount his defense without it."

A pained scream followed Thor's statement. 

"At long last."

Clint was suddenly right next to her. "Tsunami, watch my six."

Nodding, Kya put the water back in the skin but didn't close it as she and Clint kept a watchful eye for any Hydra soldiers.

Nat's slightly winded voice projected across the com-link. "At long last is lasting a little long guys."

A barrage of bullets flew in her and Clint's direction. Clint quickly grabbed Kya's arm and pulled them both behind a tree. Smoothly retracting an arrow from his quiver, Clint knocked it, aimed it, and fired it at the bunker. Moments later it exploded.

"Yeah, I think we lost the element of surprise."

Kya flung an icicle at a rogue soldier and raised a sarcastic eyebrow in Clint's direction. "Now what gave you that idea?"

Clint grinned and winked at the waterbender. Tony's snarky voice cut through the noise. "Wait a second, no one's going to acknowledge the fact the Cap just said, 'Language'?"

Kya unsuccessfully tried to cover her laughter behind her hand. 

Steve's tone was sheepish. "I know. It just slipped out."

Clint jerked his head in a certain direction. They moved across the clearing stealthily, weapons at the ready in case any Hydra soldiers decided to surprise them.

Javis addressed Tony. "Sir, the city is taking fire."

Kya and Clint got to their destination. Clint motioned for Kya to circle around and fire. After creeping a couple feet away, she pressed her back to a tree and fired from her direction while Clint fired from his.

 Tony's answer was immediate. "Strucker isn't gonna worry about civilian casualties.... Send in the Iron Legion."

Kya frowned and pursed her lips. Even though the Iron Legion was designed for good, they'll probably cause more stress than relief. She remembered from she files she read when she was grounded - it wasn't her fault.... how was she supposed to know that letting Chi-Chi up on the helli-carrier bridge was a bad idea? -about Sokovia. It wasn't exactly known for it's love for Stark Industries..... Especially after the bombing incident fifteen years ago.

Clint fired an arrow at the bunker and he and Kya ducked behind their respective trees. A gust of wind blew past her and after no exploding bunkers, Kya looked around the tree to see the still standing bunker. She saw Clint looking at her from his tree in confusion. She shrugged, and Clint frowned.

He never missed, and he checked to see that all of his arrow heads were working properly before they left Stark tower, Kya knows because she helped him check..... So what the hell happened?

Clint tried knocking another arrow and firing again, but was slammed into by a blue-ish grey streak, sending flying through the air and landing hard on the ground.

Kya heard a voice with a very, very handsome Sokovian accent cut through the tense air.

"You didn't see that coming?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if the russian dialect used here is wrong.

Kya thought quickly and slammed her hands into the ground, turning the snow into ice. She heard feet slip and a body crash into a tree. The waterbender ran forward with an icicle at the ready as the enhanced man stood up groggily. When he turned around to look at her, time seemed to stop.

He was easily the most handsomest man she has ever seen. His silvery hair and bright blue eyes easily rivaled hers. His face and muscles looked as if they've been carved by the spirits. And Kya found herself easily blushing under his gaze. Which was highly unusually.

The young waterbender wasn't the only one that was hypnotized. Pietro Maximoff couldn't remove his eyes the beautiful woman. Her face looked as if it was carefully hand-carved by the angels. Her silver hair that was tied up in a tight bun rivaled his and her eyes were deep pools of blue that he found himself wanting to drown in them completely.

"Clint's down!"

Kya broke herself out of the spell and shot the icicle at the enhanced and he used his abilities to dodge and run, leaving an aura of silver and blue.

The twenty-four year old spoke into the comm-link. "We have an enhanced in the field."

Steve's voice was slightly pained. "Yeah, met him."

Natasha's voice followed shortly after. "Clint's hit pretty bad guys, we're going to need an evac."

Kya's worry for her surrogate father spiked. "I'll be there to hel-"

Something strong and warm picked her up and Kya gasped as the wind took her breath away at a fantastic speed. She looked around and saw that she was on a plateau overlooking Sokovia. She could could still hear the gunshots from where she was.

"Guys, come in."

Nothing.

"Nat? Steve? Anyone, come in."

She put a finger to her comm only to find nothing there.

"Looking for this _Princesa_?"

Kya whipped around to see the enhance holding her comm between his thumb and pointer finger. The waterbender kept her face impassive as she held out her hand.

"Give that back to me please."

The enhance's head tilted to the side as if seriously considering before smirking at her. "No, I don't think I will."

He dropped the comm into the snow and stepped on it. "Now we can talk freely."

Kya created a water-whip and tried to strike him with it. "We have nothing to talk about."

The man used his speed to evade. "May I have your name then?"

She dropped the water whip and created a wave, but he just sped through it. He sighed and clicked his tongue.

"Of course the most beautiful woman is a fighter."

Kya ignored the blush that spread across her cheeks and glared. "What? Is a woman supposed to be weak and defenseless?"

The silver haired man smirked. "It wouldn't suit you."

He crashed into her, sending her flying back. But years of training under Natasha, Clint, and everyone else she loved in S.H.I.E.L.D. caused her to think fast and back-flip to avoid being got off guard. The second she stood up she fired an icicle, which he again avoided.

He smirked again. "It's like a dance."

Kya rolled her eyes. "You wish."

The enhanced looked at something over her shoulder and his smirk widened. "As fun as this has been _Princesa_ , I'm afraid we must continue our dance another time."

Kya turned around just in time to see a woman with bright red eyes send a wall of red energy towards her, knocking Kya off her feet and crashing into the ground. Her head hit the ground hard, causing a wave of nausea to flow through her.

Black spots dotted her vision, but she was still able to see bright red eyes kneeling above her and the red energy dancing around her fingertips.

"Wanda don't."

The red eyes looked up at what Kya assumed the male enhanced. The female enhanced smirked and said nothing.

"Just put her to sleep. Don't do anything else."

The red eyed female smirked and elegantly waved a hand around Kya's head, causing her to feel a wave of sleepiness.

The last thing she saw and felt was warm lips on her forehead. "Until next time, _Princesa_."

And then, darkness.

**-Time Skip-**

"-ya?"

The waterbender groaned and tried to fight her way through the darkness.

A cool hand cupped her cheek. "Kya?"

She recognized Natasha's voice. "Мамочка паук?"

Another cool hand cupped the other side of her face. "I'm here."

Kya clenched her eyes against the bright light. When she finally managed to open her bright blue eyes, she was greeted by Nat's worried face.

"Hi."

A tired smile spread itself across the red head's face as she brushed a lock of silver lock of hair away from surrogate daughter's face.

"What happened?"

Kya thought back to the male enhanced and a light blush crossed her face. "The male enhanced crushed my comm-link. I fought him, and another enhanced, a female, knocked me out."

"How are you feeling?"

Kya smiled and tried to sit up. "I'm okay. How's Clint?"

Nat smiled reassuringly. "Dr. Cho's meeting us at the tower with her equipment, she'll fix him up."

Kya finally managed to sit up and lean against the wall, wincing at the dryness of her throat. Nat left and came back with a glass of water.

"Спасибо мамочке."-"Thank you momma."

Nat smiled and sat next to her. "Ты приветствовать моего ребенка."-"You're welcome my baby."

The waterbender reveled in the coolness as it flowed down her throat. After downing the glass of water, she rested her head against Nat's shoulders.

"Итак, вы хотите, чтобы рассказать остальным о том, что случилось?"-"So, do you want to tell me the rest of what happened?"

Kya opened her eyes to look into Nat's green eyes. "Что вы имеете в виду?"-"What do you mean?"

Nat chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Не играйте Кой, вы знаете, что я имею в виду."-"Don't play coy, you know what I mean."

Kya lifted her head in confusion. She opened her mouth, but Nat cut her off. "Я видел, что это румяна по вашему лицу. Начните говорить Ребенка паук."-"I saw that blush across your face. Start talking ребенок паук."

The waterbender's cheeks turned bright red. "Хорошо, так что самец усиливается так мило. И что? Он по-прежнему враг."-"Okay, so the male enhanced was cute. So what? He's still the enemy."

Nat laughed at her surrogate daughter's flustered state. "Кия, нет ничего плохого в том, любуясь красивым мужчиной."-"Kya, there's nothing with admiring a handsome man."

A diabolical grin crossed Kya face. "В самом деле? Так тогда это нормально, чтобы говорить о том, как вы, как Стив тогда?"-"Really? So then it's okay to talk about how you like Steve then?"

The red head's eyes widened and she flayed for words, causing the silver headed girl to smirk and rest her chin on her hands. Kya knew that Natasha had some feelings for Steve. She had her trapped.

Finally, Natasha's green eyes narrowed in surrender. "Well played ребенок паук."

Kya's smirk widened. "Thank you мамочка паук."

Kya stood up and walked towards where Bruce was sitting and sat next to him. She smiled at him when he removed his headphones. "How you feeling Bruce?"

The scientist gave her a tired smile. "I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting the lullaby to work so well."

The waterbender smiled reassuringly. "But you did a lot of good Bruce."

Bruce scoffed. "That doesn't stop me from not trusting the other guy.

Kya squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "Thor report on the Hulk."

The thunder god's voice boomed across the cabin. "The gates of hell are filled with the screams of his victims."

Kya's blue eyes fixed Thor with a _What the hell_ look, and he rushed to fix his mistake.

"But not the screams of the dead of course. Wounded screams, mainly whimpering, uh-a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and gout." Thor trailed off.

Kya shook her head before going over to join Thor, Tony, and Steve over by the scepter.

Tony looked at the youngest member of the team and smiled. "How you feeling Moonie?"

The waterbender scoffed but rolled her eyes fondly at the nickname the billionaire playboy gave her during the whole Loki incident based on her hair and powers.

"I was a little dehydrated earlier, but I'm okay now.

Tony smiled fondly at the girl and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Kya excepted the side hug and looked at Thor. "So this feels good, yeah?"

"Moonie's right, you've been after this thing since S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties but....."

Thor chuckled. "No but this... this brings it to a close."

Steve nodded from besides Kya. "As soon as we find out what else it's been used for. And I don't just mean weapons."

The waterbender nodded. "Yeah, since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?"

"Banner and I will give it a once over before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you? Just a few days 'till the farewell party..... You're staying right?"

Thor nodded. "Yes, yes of course. A victory like this should be honored with revels."

Kya smirked. "Well who doesn't love revels. Steve?"

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and Hydra. So yes, revels." Steve smiled at his team mates.

About an hour later, they were at the Avengers Tower. Kya smiled when she saw her second mother figure.

"Hi Maria!"

The ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent smiled and embraced the waterbender. "Hey honey."

When they pulled away, Maria looked at Tony. "Labs all set up boss."

"Actual he's the boss." He said while pointing at Steve. "I just pay for everything, and design everything, and make everyone look cooler."

Kya rolled her eyes, but snapped back to attention when Steve started talking. "What's the word on Strucker?"

"NATO's got him."

"And the two enhanced?"

This peaked Kya's interest as Maria handed Steve the tablet.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff."

Kya looked down at the tablet and saw the same male enhanced - Pietro - and his sister Wanda, the female enhanced.

_So, your name is Pietro._

"Twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed on their apartment building"

Kya's mind flashed back to the reports she read when she was grounded about that bombing incident.

"Sokovia's had a rough history. It's no where special, but it's on it's way to being everywhere special."

Steve's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the information. "Their abilities?"

"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neuroleptic interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation,"

Kya giggled at Steve's lost puppy look and helped him. "He's fast and she's weird."

He looked at the tablet again before speaking. "Well they're gonna show up again."

Maria nodded. "Agreed. Files say that they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts."

Kya raised and eyebrow and tilted her head in Steve's direction as they both stepped in the elevator. "Right. What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?"

Maria shook her head. "We're not at war."

Steve raised an eyebrow as the elevator doors closed. "They are."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: warning, guest** **appearance(s) both canon/non-canon ahead.**

"The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous. His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacrum."

Kya and Natasha were Bruce and Clint and Dr. Cho patched the archer up.

Bruce's lit up face reminded Kya of an excited child. "She's creating tissue!"

Dr. Cho's smile was small, but full of pride. "If you brought him to my lab, the regeneration cradle could do this in twenty minutes."

Kya couldn't help but look with child-like wonder at the process that Dr. Cho had every right to brag, the entire setup was beyond amazing.

"Uh-Oh, he's flat-lining. Call it. Time?"

The twenty-four year old looked up to see Tony walking in with a tray of drinks.

"No no no, I'm gonna live forever." Clint chuckled stiffly. "I'm gonna be made of plastic."

The billionaire playboy smirked and handed Clint his drink. "Here is your beverage."

Dr. Cho pressed a few more buttons on the machine. "You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference."

"Well, I don't have a girlfriend."

Kya and Natasha looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes and smirked. Technically Clint wasn't lying, he just wasn't telling the entire truth.

Dr. Cho, meanwhile, smiled. "That I can't fix. This is the next thing Tony. Your clunky metal suits are going to be left in the dust."

Tony only smirked in amusement. "Well, that is exactly the plan. And Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday."

"Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties."

Kya raised an eyebrow, knowing that there was something else. She smirked when Dr. Cho cleared her throat asked in a less confident voice.

"Will Thor be there?"

**-Time Skip-**

Kya breathed in a out as she lulled herself into a trance. Even though she left the islands, she still continued the practice of meditation. Especially with her extra special abilities.

When Kya was little, she found out that she could go in and out of the Spirit World and communicate with the Spirits. Before she left, her Grandmother taught her how to defend herself against unfriendly spirits. As she experimented spiritual abilities, she learned how to travel between the Avengers Tower and her home on the Water Island. She used this to introduce Clint and Natasha to her biological family. The two assassins learned chi blocking while at the islands, making them more deadly than ever.

Even though sparring with one of her teammates helped and lashing out at a punching bag were good remedies, meditation was what really helped her when her thoughts were running wild. And because the Avengers Tower was so large, it didn't take Kya long to find a secluded room where she could meditate in peace. On more than one occasion, she found herself being joined by some of her teammates (mainly Natasha and Bruce. Sometimes Steve - usually when Natasha's there - but Bruce was the one who came the most for obvious reasons.).

But at the moment, she was alone. And she definitely needed it too.

Especially since now all she seemed to think about for the past three days was the flirty Sokovian Speedster.

_He probably flirts with every other woman he sees. It's not like you're anything special to him._

As Kya continued to meditate, she started feeling two different spirtual signatures on the Spiritual Plane. One was an appending sense of danger; as if something very bad was about to happen. Curious, Kya reached for the dangerous feeling signature and let the vision the signature brought fill the images in her brain.

_Buildings were crumbling, children were screaming._

_People were dying._

_Kya looked around as destruction rained down on Sokovia. She tried to heal whoever she could get her hands on, but it wasn't enough._

_A woman starting screaming for someone, either a son or a brother. The waterbender saw Clint look around. When he saw what he was looking for, he darted from the S.H.I.E.L.D. safety boat. He picked up a little boy in his arms and turned to run back to the boat when a Quin-Jet started flying towards him and the little boy._

_Clint knew what was going to happen as the Quin-Jet got closer and closer. He turned sharply to shield the little boy when a blue-ish silver streak ran in front of him, effectively block Clint and the little boy from certain death._

Kya gasped as she was yanked from the vision. This wasn't the first time the Spirits have shown her visions. Most of the time, they made sense. But not this time.

And that made Kya worry, a lot.

Why were the Avengers in Sokovia? And why was Pietro Maximoff most likely taking life stealing bullets for Clint?

Speaking of the silver haired Sokovian, as she shook off the shock from the previous vision and started focusing on the other spiritual signature, the more she kept thinking about him, the more the signature became more potent. Which met that Pietro was either somehow or directly connected to the spiritual signature. And something that set it apart from the previous vision was that it didn't feel like a vision at all. It felt like a message.

Furrowing her eyebrows in curiosity, Kya closed her eyes and opened her mind to the message. It didn't take long to hear a voice. The voice was female. Young, about her own age, maybe older, but not by a lot. And it had an accent. Sokovian maybe.

_Save him Kya, you have to save him!_

A knock on her door pulled her away from the message and out of her trance. The knock was followed quickly by Nat's voice.

"Kya?"

Shaking her head to rid - and horrendously failing - herself of any thoughts about Pietro Maximoff, the vision, and the voice, the waterbender stood up and made her way towards the door. When she opened it, she was greeted by the sight of a mildly irritated Nat with a very familiar friend perched on her shoulder.

Kya gasped in hapiness. "Chi Chi!"

Chi Chi was Kya's flying Lemur Bat. At first Chi Chi was meant to act like a carrier pigeon and deliver letters from where ever Kya was to her family. But when she learned how to travel from her world, through the Spirit World, to her old home, Kya immediately took the lemur bat as a pet that could travel from the islands to the Avengers Tower whenever she wanted.

Clint loved Chi Chi, so does-did Coulson, and Nat - usually - Fury has a love-hate relationship with Chi Chi since that incident where she got loose on the Helli-Carrier bridge, which was what lead her to being grounded.

Said lemur bat cooed happily and hopped on her mistress's shoulder before curling her tail around her neck. Kya scratched her furry companion behind the ears before raising an eyebrow at Nat.

"What?"

Nat raised an eyebrow back and remained silent. Kya rolled her eyes and continued petted one of large Chi Chi's ears. "Oh come on, you love Chi Chi."

Natasha sighed. "I do, but not when I find her digging through my stuff."

Kya pursed her lips to keep a giggle from escaping, remembering an incident when Chi Chi got a hold of one of Nat's guns. Ironically, Chi Chi grabbing one of Natasha's guns was followed by the Hellicarrier bridge incident. Long story short, Nick had to get a bullet removed from his behind.

"Anything else Nat?"

The red head nodded. "Yeah. The party is in a few hours. Head up to your room and start getting ready."

The waterbender nodded before turning the lights off in her meditation room and closing the door behind her as she followed Nat to the elevator. Since each Avenger had their own floor at the tower, Natasha pressed a kiss to her surrogate daughter's forehead as she dropped her off at her floor before heading up to her own.

Kya leaned against the door after closing it. Chi Chi flew off her mistress's shoulders and to her designated corner of the room completed with a food dish and pillow to sleep on.

Sighing, the twenty-four year old pushed off the door and started getting ready.

**-Time Skip-**

"So what do you guys think?"

Kya was video chatting with two of her best female friends in New York. Darcy Lewis and April O'Neal

Kya met Darcy when Thor brought Jane to the Avengers Tower to meet the team. Darcy, of course, followed. When the two met, they immediately hit it off with each other.

The waterbender met April while covertly investigating rumors about what Eric Sacks was experimenting on. Along with the unappreciated reporter, Kya met the mutant turtles Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. She helped them escape the mansion and get to New York. After promising to keep their secret, she made life long friends with April, the turtle brothers, and the turtles father/sensei Splinter.

At the moment, she was showing April and Darcy the dress she was going to wear tonight.

**(Author's Note: Just picture Wonder Woman's silver dress from Batman v Superman)**

"Well?"

With a dropped jaw, Darcy was the one who spoke first. "Damn Girl! You look like a sexy moon goddess!"

April nodded in agreement, with the sparkling silver dress and the way the waterbender's silver hair cascaded down her back, Darcy's statement was 100% true.

The reporter started to frowning when Kya started braiding her hair. "Do you have to wear your hair up? Darcy's right, you definitely have that sexy goddess persona going on. Not that you won't when your hair's up, it would just be a nice change."

Kya smiled at her friends as she continued to braid. "I just like it better up. If I'm in a fight, I'd prefer it if I wasn't dragged back by my hair at some point thank you very much."

The waterbender chuckled to herself when her friends groaned and/or rolled their eyes. After she finished, she started wrapping a thin, blue ribbon around the braided length of hair. She kept talking to Darcy and April as she finished with the ribbon and started twisting it up in a Queen Elsa bun.

"So Darc', how's it going with Ian?"

The Taser Queen - a nickname Kya gave her after the intern told her about the time she and Jane first met Thor - shrugged with a tiny smile on her face. "It's going okay. He's a little geeky, but otherwise okay."

Both April and Kya stared at their friend for a moment. Kya raised an eyebrow. "Which one do you want to be Darcy, the pot or the kettle?"

Darcy snorted. "I'm dorky, not geeky."

Something off screen made Darcy turn her head. The Taser Queen frowned. "Oh come one! Five more minutes."

Apparently the person off camera was insisting because Darcy groaned. "I gots to go."

Kya and April smiled at their friend. "See ya Darc'."

Darcy looked at the person off camera again before looking back at Kya. "Jane says to tell Thor she said Hi."

The waterbender nodded. "I promise. Bye Darcy."

The intern waved. "Bye Sexy Moon Goddess; bye Reporter Woman."

Both woman rolled their eyes at the nicknames their dorky friend gave them she signed off before smiling at each other.

"I should go too. I promised the turtles we would watch more Odd Couple tonight."

Kya raised a playful eyebrow. "All of them or just a certain red-bandanna wearing turtle?" **(Author's Note: Yes, I ship the 2014-2016 movie version of April and Raph together. Don't judge.)**

April cheeks turned slightly pink as she glared at her friend. "All of them thank you very much."

The waterbender giggled and held her hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying, you guys have been getting closer these past few weeks."

The reporter's glare got worse. "This video-chat is over."

Kya giggle turned into a full fledged laugh. "I love you my friend!"

April stuck her tongue out before closing the video-chat. Kya chuckled lightly before starting to apply makeup. When she was finally ready, she gave herself one last look before joining her surrogate family upstairs.

**-Time Skip-**

Usually parties weren't her thing. But if she was with family and friends, she wasn't one to complain.

"I'm very happy chasing cold leads on our missing persons case. Avenging is your world."

Kya frowned as she sipped her vodka; she remembered that James 'Bucky' Barnes was Steve's best friend from WW2 and the Winter Soldier. She knew where he was, she knew _exactly_ where he was. About six months after S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, Kya tracked Bucky's spiritual signature to Romania. She remembers when she took a Quin-Jet there and helped him restore his memories.

**-Flashback-**

_Kya gritted her teeth and kept a hand ready to quickly uncork her waterskin as she climbed up the fire escape to the designated window. The waterbender took a deep breath as she climbed over the rail and carefully unlocked the window. She peaked through the curtains and saw the room to be empty._

_Frowning, she climbed through the window and started to look for clues to see where he had gone. There were groceries on the counter, so he didn't leave-_

_A gun being clocked and aimed at her head cut off her line of thinking. Kya held up her hands to show she didn't mean any harm._

_She turned around slowly. "Bucky-"_

_"You were with him." The gun lowered slightly, but not completely as Bucky saw her face. She nodded._

_"Yes."_

_The gun lowered again. "Who is he?"_

_Kya lowered her hands. "Someone who's very important to you. And you to him."_

_She uncorked her waterskin and gloved her hands in water. "Let me help you remember who you are."_

_The former HYDRA assassin looked at her glowing hands with suspicion. He looked into Kya's bright blue eyes, looking for any signs of betrayal. Not that she blamed him, for all he knew, she might crush his head._

_The waterbender smiled reassuringly. "It's okay."_

_Bucky kept looking into Kya's eyes. Not seeing any signs of suspicions, he nodded. The waterbender gently placed her hands on each temple and concentrated._

_The memories came in a rush._

_What looked like a young Bucky was pulling what looked like a young Steve off hard schoolyard ground. Memories of the boys growing up together and being inseparable flashed through Kya and Bucky's minds._

_Up to the moment Bucky rescued Steve and pulled him out of the water._

_Kya pulled back with a gasp. She watched as Bucky stumbled back against the refrigerator as he processed the memories that just shot through his head._

_"Steve-"_

_"Understands why you were doing what you were doing. You weren't you."_

_Bucky buried his hands in his hair. "That doesn't change that I did those things."_

_Kya walked forward and placed a small hand on the former HYDRA assassin's shoulder. "Again, you weren't you. Hydra stuffed you brain into a blender and hit frappe. Right now, you're James Buchanen Barnes, Steve's best friend."_

_She smiled and gently squeezed his solder. "I can take you to him-"_

_"No."_

_The waterbender's eyebrows furrowed. "But-"_

_"I need to come to terms with what I've done."_

_Kya pursed her lips before nodding in understanding. "Okay. When you're ready for someone to find you...."_

_She fished a locator out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Press this button."_

_With that being said, the waterbender walked towards the window and climbed out. But before she could climb over the fire escaping railing, Bucky's voice stopped her._

_"Thank you."_

_Kya looked back through the window and smiled at the other super soldier. "It was my pleasure, see you soon Bucky."_

_With that, she climbed over the railing for the fire escape and started to run back to where she hid the Quin-Jet._

**-End of Flashback-**

_The perks of spiritual powers._

Kya sighed and continued to sip at her vodka. She saw Steve now standing next to Thor and a couple of his veteran buddies. Finishing off her drink, the waterbender placed her now empty glass on a table and walked towards the group.

Steve smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Hi."

The girl smiled and leaned into Steve's side. "Hey."

The super soldier and waterbender turned their attention back to Thor and the veterans.

"No, no, no. See this.... This was aged for 1,000 years in the barrels built from the wreck of Grunhel's fleet. It's not meant for mere mortal men."

Since Kya and Steve weren't 'mere mortals' the god of thunder handed each of them a glass of the Asgardian  brew.

One of the veterans scoffed. "Neither was Omaha Beach Blondie."

Kya noticed that the veteran looked familiar, but she couldn't place where.

"Stop trying to scare us. Come on,"

Thor sighed before pouring the veteran a glass. "All right."

Kya sipped the brew before sighing happily, completely unaffected by the supposedly powerful drink. "That is good alcohol."

Unfortunately, the affects for completely different for the veteran.

"Excelsior!"

Kya pursed her lips to contain her giggle as she helped some of the veterans load their friend into the elevator. After walking down the stairs, she saw Steve leaning against the bar. Which happen to be the bar Nat was perched behind.

The waterbender watched with a smirk as Natasha and Steve talked to each other by the bar. Kya knew that her surrogate mother and the super soldier had feelings for each other. It's been palpable since S.H.I.E.L.D fell.

**-Flashback-**

_The waterbender had her long silver hair tucked up into a hat as she stepped onto the escalator with Natasha and Steve. She couldn't believe that the place that has been her home since she has been ten years old was corrupted._

_"Kiss me."_

_Kya looked at the spy and super soldier in front of her as said super soldier looked at said spy with confusion._

_"What?"_

_The waterbender caught onto what her surrogate mother was trying to do. "Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable."_

_Steve looked at the silver haired girl with furrowed eyebrows. "Yes they do."_

_Natasha rolled her eyes and grabbed the man out of time's face before slamming her lips onto his. Kya faced her left to avoid looking and the Hydra agent seeing her. Nat finally pulled away and walked of the escalator._

_"Still feel uncomfortable?"_

_Kya smirked at the super soldier's red face. "I don't think that's the word he would use."_

**-End of Flashback-**

Natasha leaned in close to say something to Steve before walking off. Kya took the opportunity to walk up behind Steve.

"It's nice. You and Nat."

The super soldier turned around to face the waterbender. "No we haven't..... That wasn't-"

Kya laughed. "It's okay. No Bylaws have been broken."

She let her eyes trail in the direction Nat walked off in. "Nat's not the most open person in the world. With you though, she seems very relaxed."

Steve, in denial, shook his head. "No no.... Natasha, she just likes to flirt."

Kya shook her head and placed a hand on the super soldier's hand. "Steve, I've seen Nat flirt. _You've_ seen her flirt, up close. This isn't that."

With that, the waterbender turned on her heel and walked away. Leaving the man out of time to silent ponder on what she said.


	6. Chapter 6

"But it's a trick!"

Kya rolled her eyes and smiled. Clint, who seemed to be partially drunk, was doubting the whole 'He who be worthy shall lift the hammer' thing. It's been a while since the party started dying down, and only Kya, Maria, James, the rest of the Avengers, and a sleeping Dr. Cho remained.

Thor seemed nonchalant as he sipped his beer. "No no, it's much more than that."

Clint scoffed, and his voice dropped a few octaves. "Whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power..... Whatever man! It's a trick!"

A sly grin spread across Thor' face, and he used his hand to indicate to Mjölnir. "Please, be my guest."

Kya smirked as she looked at her surrogate father... who looked surprised.

"Really?"

The waterbender bit her lip as Clint got up and walked around the table before gripping Mjölnir's handle. In the back ground, she heard Rhodey snicker. "This is going to be beautiful."

Kya shook her head fondly. "Papa Bird, you've had a tough week. And just so you know..... we won't hold it against you if you can't get up."

Clint laughed and wrinkled his nose in her direction speaking to Thor. "Y'know I've seen this before right?"

Kya was supposed to go with Clint to New Mexico when Mjölnir first crashed to Earth. But there was an emergency on the Islands and Nick let her go there instead of New Mexico.

Clint tried - and failed - to lift the hammer. "I still don't know how you do it!"

Bright blue eyes looked at Tony as he smirked. "Smell the silent Judgement?"

The Archer raised an eyebrow and indicated to the Asguardian Hammer. "Please Stark, by all means."

Tony stood up with a whole lot of swagger, unbuttoning his jacket as he sauntered toward Mjölnir. "Never one to shrink from an honest challenge."

Kya leaned against Maria and smirked. "Exhibit A being every one night stand you've had up until you and Pepper finally got together."

The billionaire gasped and slapped a hand to his chest in mock hurt. "Moonie I thought you loved me!!!!!!!"

The waterbender giggled as Maria wrapped an arm around her surrogate niece's shoulder. "I do. Remember when I sent that expensive wine from Venice?"

Tony chuckled and wrapped his hand around Mjölnir's handle. "Yes I do....... Pepper and I enjoyed it a lot by the way."

"I'll send you the address of the vineyard."

"Thank you. Anyway..... It's just plain physics. Right so, if I lift it, I then get to rule Asgard?"

Thor chuckled. "Yes of course."

Tony cracked his neck. "I will be re-instituting Prima Nocta."

But of course, when Tony tried to use said method, the hammer didn't move a centimeter.

Eveyone giggled into their drinks - or in Kya's case Maria's shoulder - and Tony let go of Mjölnir.

"I'll be right back."

Moments later, he came back with a glove from his Iron Man suit. Unfortunately, even with the thrusters booming, the hammer didn't move. The loyal hammer didn't even move when Rhodey put on his War Machine glove and - tried - to help Tony lift the hammer.

"Are you even pulling?!?"

Tony's clipped tone shot back at his long time friend. "Are you on my team?"

"Just represent! PULL!!!

"ALRIGHT!!!!!"

Needless to say, nothing happened.

Poor Bruce went up next, but the only thing to come out his efforts was a terrible impression of his better/worse half.

Steve was up next. He pushed his sleeves up as he got up from his spot next to Natasha on the couch and went to pull. Kya's bright blue eyes widened when she saw the hammer lift by a centimeter. She wasn't the only one who noticed, as Thor suddenly looked very nervous.

But alas, the hammer didn't leave it's spot on the table.

"Tsunami? Widow? Any takers?"

The silver headed girl wrinkled her nose and shook her head while her surrogate mother smirked. "Oh no no, that's not a question I need answered."

Tony stood next to Clint and Rhodey. "All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged."

Clint nodded. "You bet your ass."

Maria mock gasped and pointed at the archer. "Steve, he said a bad language word!"

The super soldier's shy school boy side showed up as he sounded both amused an embarrassed. "Did you tell everyone about that?"

Tony ignored him. "The handle's imprinted right? Like a security code....... 'Whoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints' is, I think, the literal translation?"

The thunder god smirked and stood up from the couch. "Yes well, that's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one."

He picked upMjölnir and threw it in the air in a cocky manner before catching it. "You're all not worthy."

The room was filled with playful disagreements and booing when suddenly, an ear piercing noise filled room.

A voice that sounded straight out of a horror movie followed. "Wwwwwwooooorrrrrtttthy."

The voice was followed by a dragging noise. The Avengers looked to see what looked like a bunch of parts from the Iron Legion mashed together to look like a marionette from Hell limp into the room.

"Worthy........ No...... How could you be worthy? You're all killers."

Without taking her eyes off the disfigured robot, Kya addressed the billionaire genius. "Tony?"

Said man was trying to get to his AI through his phone. "Jarvis?"

The robot spoke again. "I'm sorry, I was asleep. Or...... I was a dream?"

Tony was still trying to connect with Jarvis. "Reboot. Legionnaire 06's got a buggy suit."

"There was this....... terrible noise. And I was tangled in...... in strings. Had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

Steve's face was grim as he glared at the robot. "You killed someone?"

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

As the thing limped closer, Thor - who had a death grip on his hammer at this point - asked it. "Who sent you?"

A recording came from the robot, and Tony's all too familiar voice came through. 'I see a suit of armor around the world.'

Bruce's face paled as he looked at Tony. "Ultron."

The thing, Ultron, spoke. "In the flesh...... Or no, not yet. Not this..... Christmas. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

Kya eyes narrowed. "What mission?"

What he said next sent shivers down her spine.

"Peace in our time."

The next thing anyone knew.... four other rogue Iron Legion broke through the wall.

Just like how all hell broke loose.

Kya ripped all of the moisture in the air around her just as Steve kicked up the table that everyone was sitting at as a shield. But that didn't do a lot to block the blow the iron legion. The man out of time went flying back over the railing. The silver haired woman wrapped a tendril of water around the rogue robot's neck before decapitating it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Natasha leading Bruce up the stairs as well as the robot that was aiming at them.

Not thinking twice, the waterbender impaled the machine head with an icicle.

Quickly spying Dr. Cho trying her best to hide from the legless robot crawling towards her, Kya quickly bended the mosture to go inside the robot making it explode. She turned on her heel to guard the good doctor just in time to see Steve destroy what looked like the last robot excluding Ultron Prime.

It almost sounded like Ultron was rolling his eyes. "That was dramatic. I'm sorry, I know you mean well..... You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change."

The android limped towards a broken iron legion robot before lifting its head up. "How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to evolve? With these? These puppets? There's only one path to peace...... The Avengers' extinction."

He crushed the head he was holding. Hearing enough, Thor threw Mjölnir at Ultron, shattering him to pieces.

"I had strings, but now I'm free.... There are no strings on me...... strings on me.."

With the once cheerful song from Pinocchio ruined for her, Kya and Dr. Cho followed the rest of the Avengers to Tony's lab.

Bruce walked over to the computer and typed, looking for past data, and found nothing. "All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out, and used the internet as an escape hatch."

Steve spat the android's name. "Ultron."

Kya leaned against the railing next to Natasha, keeping quite while her surrogate mother spoke. "He's been in everything. Files, surveillance..... probably knows more about us than we know about each other."

Rhodey's voice was grim. "He's in your files, he's in the internet..... what if he decides to access something a little more exciting?"

Maria's face was just as grim. "Nuclear codes."

"Nuclear codes. Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

Nat raised an eyebrow. "Nukes? He said we wanted us dead."

Steve shook his head. "He didn't say dead......"

Kya stood up straighter. "He said extinct."

"He all said he killed somebody." Clint pointed out.

"But there wasn't anyone else in the building." Kya looked at her surrogate aunt before walking over to help her remove the remaining class from her foot before healing it.

Tony's voice was a cross between mournful and dejection. "Yes there was."

Moments later, a computerized version of Jarvis appeared in thin air.

Or what was left of him anyways.

Bruce approached the broken hologram, looking both scared and astonished. "This is insane."

The super soldier's face was impassive and his arms were crossed. "Jarvis was the first line of defense. He would've shut Ultron down, it makes sense."

Bruce shook his head. "No. Ultron would have assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy...."

Kya stood up and stepped towards the hologram. "It's rage."

Dressed in his full battle armor, Thor stalked towards Tony before lifting him up by his throat.

Clint winced. "Looks like it's going around."

Ever the comedian, Tony spoke to the god of thunder in a joking tone. "C'mon, use your words Buddy."

Thor was not amused. "I have enough words to describe you Stark."

The waterbender quickly ran to his side and clamped a hand on his broad shoulder. "Thor!"

The prince of Asgard looked at the tiny woman he considered a sister before setting the billionaire down none to gently.

Steve approached the trio. "The Legionnaire?"

Thor shook his head. "Trail went cold 100 miles out, but it's headed north. And it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve, again."

Natasha's mouth was a thin line. "Genie's out of that bottle. Clear and present is Ultron."

For the first time since coming down to the lab, Dr. Cho spoke. "I don't understand.... You built this program, why is it trying to kill us?"

Tony did the LAST thing he should have done.

He laughed.

Bruce looked at his science partner out of the corner of his eye and shook his head frantically, trying to stop him from digging his grave deeper.

Thor's voice was angry...... and rightfully so. "You think this is funny?"

The billionaire turned around with an expression on his face that made him look like he was teetering on the edge of sanity. "No. It's probably not right? Is this very terrible? Is it so.... it's is, it's so terrible."

The god of thunder's jaw clenched. "This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand."

Tony chuckled again. "No, I'm sorry, it is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this."

Kya walked in between the two men to keep them separated as Bruce tried to reign Tony in. "Tony maybe this isn't the time-"

Said man quickly turned on his heel to face the other scientist. "Really?!? That's it?! Just roll over and show your belly every time someone snarls?"

Bruce looked at Tony with a deadpanned expression. "Only when I've created a murder bot."

It was clear that the billionaire was less than pleased. "We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?"

Steve sighed irritably. "Well, you did something right. And you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different than S.H.I.E.L.D."

Tony wasn't done. "Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?"

Rhodey rolled his eyes. "Nope, never came up."

"Saved New York? Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. And we're standing 300 feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all day..... but that up there? That's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?"

Kya raised her chin a little higher. "Together."

Tony looked at the waterbender with a blank expression on his face. "We'll lose."

The man out of time came up and placed a supporting hand on Kya's shoulder. "Then we'll do that together too."

Squeezing the silver haired woman's shoulder comfortingly, Steve turned to address the rest of the Avengers. "Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out, and I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place, let's start making it smaller."

**-Time Skip-**

When Kya finally relented to sleep, her dreams took her to a small apartment she's never seen before.

**-** **Dream-**

**_The waterbender looked around the apartment in confusion._ **

_Where am I?_

_Why am I here?_

**_A child's laughter brought her attention to a family of four eating dinner with each other. Looking at the children closer, she recognized them to be the two enhanced; Pietro and Wanda_ ** **_Maximoff_ ** **_. Only difference being that the little boy's hair was a warm, chocolate brown color. Not the lovely shade of silver his hair possessed when they first met._ **

_I'm in_ _Sokovia_ _then. This must be a memory from the twins childhood............. But why am I seeing it?_

**_An explosion a little to close for comfort shook the apartment and the tiny family occupying it. Kya then knew exactly 'when' she was._ **

**_The bombing of Sokovia._ **

**_The next shell hit the apartment. Little Pietro grabbed his sister and the two rolled underneath the bed pushed into the corner._ **

**_Their parents weren't so lucky._ **

**_Kya and the twins watched in horror as the twins parents' mauled bodies fell with the bomb to the next floor, and the floor below that. Another bomb fell three feet from the twins' face, one word loud and clear imprinted on the side._ **

**_Stark._ **

**_Kya heard little Wanda whimper and try to move closer to her brother without moving to much, in fear of setting the bomb off. One look at their small, traumatized faces clouded with fear..... and the silver haired woman felt her heart break._ **

**-End of Dream-**

Kya darted up from her bed with a gasp. Chi Chi immediately flew to her mistress's shoulder and rubbed her furry head against the waterbender's cheek comfortingly.

Bright blue eyes clenched shut to stop the tears that were gathering from escaping as she pressed a shaking hand to her mouth.

"I'm so sorry Pietro..... I'm so sorry."

Little did she know, about an ocean away, Pietro Maximoff was clutching the side of his head with his hands. The screams of the silver haired goddess that has been haunting his mind echoed in his ears as an older woman who was controlled the child version of the silver haired goddess like a dark puppet master.


	7. Chapter 7

After Kya managed to calm herself down, she went over in her head what she just saw. Granted, she has had visions of the past. But she has never experienced anything like that. She felt Pietro and Wanda's emotions as if they were her own, and that has never happened before.

 _And_ _why_ _a_ _vision_ _of_ _them_ _of_ _all_ _people_ _?_ _Do Pietro and I..... Are we....... No. It can't be!_

Wanting answers, Kya threw her bedsheets off her and, with Chi Chi perched on her shoulders, made her way to her meditation room.

She didn't bother turning the lights on since the lanterns that were various shades of blue that Kya had floating around the room provided enough lighting. The silver haired young woman looked at her loyal flying lemur bat. "Alright Chi Chi, you can either go back to my room or stay here. If you're staying you have to stay still."

The lemur bat wrinkled her nose before flying off Kya's shoulder and back to her mistress's room. Said woman shook her head fondly before closing the door and making her way to the middle of the room. Quickly sitting on her meditation cushion, the waterbender rested her hands on her bent knees and closed her bright blue eyes.

It took some time to clear her head, but when Kya was finally able to concentrate, she followed the spiritual signature until it led her to another memory. Pietro and Wanda were in side to side cells. Pietro's hair was still chocolate brown, but he already had his enhancements. He kept running for brief intervals, but immediately ran into the walls of his cell.

 _That_ _must_ _be_ _torture_ _..._ _Wanting_ _to_ _run_ _for_ _miles_ _but_ _not_ _being_ _able_ _to._

_**Pietro slammed into the wall,** _ _**gasping** _ _**.** _ _**He** _ _**stared** _ _**up** _ _**at** _ _**the** _ _**ceiling** _ _**before** _ **_turning_ ** **_his_ ** **_head_ ** **_to_ ** **_the_ ** **_left_ ** **_._ **

**_"_ ** **_Wanda_ ** **_?_ ** **_Si_ ** **_buden_ ** **_?"_ ** **_-_ ** **_"_ ** **_Wanda_ ** **_?_ ** **_Are_ ** **_you_ ** **_awake_ ** **_?"_ **

**_His_** ** _sister_** ** _,_** ** _who_** ** _was_** ** _practicing_** ** _with_** ** _her_** ** _enhancements_** ** _,_** ** _merely_** ** _tilted_** ** _her_** ** _head_** ** _,_** Kya could only assume that she was replying mentally.

**_"_ ** _**To** _ _**je** _ _**mučenje** _ _**, to** _ _**sovražim** _ _**."-"This is torture, I hate this."** _

**_Wanda_ ** **_turned_ ** **_her_ ** **_head_ ** **_to_ ** **_look_ ** **_at_ ** **_the_ ** **_wall_ ** **_that_ ** **_her_ ** **_brother_ ** **_was_ ** **_behind_ ** **_. "_ ** **_Se_ ** **_spomniš_ ** **_,_ ** **_zakaj_ ** **_to_ ** **_počnemo_ ** **_?"-"You remember why_ ** **_we_ ** **_are_ ** **_doing_ ** **_this?"_ **

**_Pietro looked at wall. "_ ** **_Seveda_ ** **_."-"Of course I do."_ **

Suddenly, Wanda slowly turned her head in Kya's direction. She looked at her for a split second before a wicked smirk crossed the female Maximoff's angelic face before her eyes turned bright red. " _That_ _is_ _something_ _you_ _will_ _not_ _be_ _finding_ _out_ _today_ _,_ _Moon_ _."_

Suddenly, a wave of red mist covered Kya's vision. Next thing she knows, she's being pushed out of the Sokovian Speedster's mind. Apparently, the force from Wanda's mental push was enough to be physical because when Kya opened her eyes and lifted her head, she was lying on her back a few feet away from her meditation cushion.

Taking deep breaths, Kya laid flat on her back and stared up at the ceiling. Two things were certain now..... One; somehow, some way, she and Pietro have a bond with each other. But the question was, how the hell did their bond form? And two; Wanda Maximoff is far more powerful than they had originally suspected.

Kya had this deep feeling in her stomach that the female Maximoff's enhancements are going to be a _ver_ y big problem for the Avengers next time they run into her and her brother.

Rubbing a hand down her face, the silver haired young woman pulled herself up and walked back to her meditation cushion. She was, in no way, ready to give up because Wanda Maximoff kicked her out.

All though, she did feel a little bad since it was _Pietro's_ mind

As she sat back down, Kya couldn't help but wonder if the silver haired speedster _knew_ that she was sneaking around in his mind. And if he did, how exactly was that going to shape their next meeting?

She sighed as she closed her eyes.

_I suppose that only time will tell._

**-Time Skip-**

The next morning, Kya trudged into the kitchen with bags under her eyes, causing her teammates to raise their eyebrows.

"You-"

Clint placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Maybe wait until she's had coffee before talking."

Their conversation fell on Kya's deff ears as she focused on fueling herself with caffeine. She spent most of the night trying to break the wall that Wanda had put on her brother's mind.

She knows she _probably_ supposed to feel bad that she and Wanda used Pietro's mind as a chess board....... _But_ in her coffee deprived mind, she did not give a damn.

After taking a couple of sips, she took a deep breath before facing her extended family.

Steve's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you okay Kya?"

The waterbender took another sip before tapping her fingers against her coffee cup and contemplated what she was going to do next. On one hand, the logic hand that sounded suspiciously like Natasha, she _really_ should tell the others, especially her surrogate parents, about the bond she now has with Pietro. But the other hand, the completely _illogical_ hand that sounded so much like Tony it was terrifying, she has this deep feeling that she was supposed to keep the bond a secret. At least for now, until she knew _exactly_ what the bond meant.

But until then......

"I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well. That's all."


	8. Chapter 8

About a week later, the Avengers finally got a hit on Ultron's movements.

"He's all over the _globe_...... Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs..... Reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place."

Kya frowned as she followed Maria and as she gave the report to Steve. Said man had an identical frown marring his face.

"Fatalities?"

"Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fear, and something to fast to see."

The silver-haired woman decided to ignore the heat that blossomed in her cheeks. "The Maximoffs...... Now that I'm thinking about it, that actually make a lot of sense that he would go to them."

Steve nodded. "You're right, it's because of the someone they have in common."

Kya knew he was talking about Strucker. But that thought was swept away when Maria frowned.

"Not anymore."

The waterbender's surrogate aunt handed the super soldier the tablet she was holding. On the screen was a picture of Strucker's dead body. And on the wall was a single word written in blood.

**_Peace_ ** **_._ **

Out of the corner of her eye, Kya saw Clint talking into his cell phone.

"Negative, I answer to you. Yes ma'am."

Apparently, Steve noticed him too. "Barton, we might have something."

The archer spared the man out of time a single glance before talking into his phone again. "Gotta go."

After he hung up, Steve raised a curious eyebrow. "Who was that?"

Clint smirked before winking at Kya, who kne _w_ _exactly_ who he was talking to. "Girlfriend."

**-** **Very** **Brief** **Time** **Skip-**

The three Avengers footsteps crunched against the glass that was still spread across the floor of Tony's lab. Kya, who was now carrying the tablet, handed it to Thor. The thunder god's face quickly morphed into a frustrated expression before forcing the tablet into Tony's grasp.

The billionaire 'no longer playboy' looked at the tablet with furrowed eyebrows. "What's this?"

Kya answered him. "A message...... Ultron killed Strucker."

"And he did a banksy at the crime scene, just for us."

Natasha looked stood next to Steve before frowning at the picture while Kya made her way to a computer. "This is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"

Cap looked over the waterbender's shoulders. "Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss."

The red head joined him. "Yeah, I bet he-"

Kya cut her off. "Yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased."

"Not everything."

Thirty minutes later, the Avengers were neck deep in every other file they had, causing the silver haired woman to wrinkle her nose in disdain. "This brings back _so_ many _fond_ memories of being grounded."

Natasha and Clint smirked in her direction before going back to looking at the files they were holding. Steve frowned at his pile. "Known associates....... Strucker had a lot of friends."

Bruce grimaced. "Well..... These people are terrible."

One person in particular caught Tony's eye. "Wait, I know that guy, from back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms."

Everyone looked at Tony with stone-eyed glares.

"There are conventions, all right. You meet people, I didn't sell him anything! He was talking about something new, a game changer. It was all 'Ahab'."

Thor pointed at a mark on the man in the picture's neck. "This?"

"Uh, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it-"

Thor shook his head before pointing to the tribal markings on his arms. "No, _those_ are tattoos. _That_ is a brand."

Bruce took the photo before scanning it into the computer. "It's a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief'."

Kya placed a hand on his shoulder before looking at the screen. "Ouch, in a _much_ less friendlier way."

Steve looked at him from his place at the table. "What dialect?"

"Wakanada? Wa-Wakanda."

Tony was less then pleased. "If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods......."

Steve looked at him as sharply. "I thought your father said he got the last of it?"

Bruce looked at his fellow Avengers. "I don't follow, what comes out of Wakanda?"

The silver haired woman let her gaze fall to the man out of time's shield. "The strongest metal on Earth."

**-Time** **Skip-**

"It's a thing with me. Stark is.... He's a sickness!"

"Aww Junior...."

Tony landed on the bridge as Thor and Steve walked onto while Kya hung back in the shadows as instructed.

"You're gonna break your old man's heart."

Bright blue eyes immediately went to the Maximoff twins. Pietro had casted aside the container of Vibranium he had been holding before walking forward, but still staying behind Ultron, with his sister as all three of them moved closer.

"If I have to."

Thor tried to reason with the wayward AI. "Nobody has to break _anything_."

"Clearly you've never made an omelet."

Tony, ever the comedian, looked at the thunder god. "He beat me by _one_ second!"

The Prince of Asgard looked confused but said nothing. Kya perked to attention when Pietro walked forward coldly.

"Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark..... It's what, comfortable? Like old times?"

The billionaire's voice was ashamed as he remembered the sins of his past. "This was never my life."

Kya shook out her nerves and walked out of the shadows and in front of her fellow Avengers to defend her surrogate uncle.

"He's right. Tony wasn't the one that bombed Sokovia. Granted, he didn't give much thought to where his weapons were going, but his intentions were meant for the greater good."

She ignored the Maximoff twins as they stared at her - Wanda in cold smugness and Pietro..... Kya decided not to decipher those emotions - as Ultron spoke.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s greatest mystery...... Tell me Tsunami, where _do_ _es_ your bending come from?"

The waterbender raised an eyebrow in the robot's direction. "Oh yes, I'm definitely going to tell an evil AI that I'm currently fighting against where my abilities originate from."

Ultron shrugged. "Fair enough."

Steve walked forward and stood protectively next to Kya before addressing Pietro and Wanda. "You two can still walk away from this."

The female Maximoff slid her gaze from the silver haired woman to the man out of time, her voice the same from the last time Kya heard it in Pietro's mind, cold and mocking.

"Oh we will."

"I know you've suffered-"

A sound that could only be named as a gag came from Ultron, breaking Steve and Wanda's conversation. "Bleugh! Captain America 'God's Righteous Man', pretending you can live without war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth but-"

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it."

Ultron looked in Thor's direction. "I think you're confusing peace with quiet."

"Yu-huh. What's the Vibranium for?"

The robot copied Kya's earlier sarcasm. "I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan."

Ultron's arm shot towards Tony, and a magnet like beam dragged the billionaire towards his creation. Red beams then shout out of his fingers and forced the billionaire into the wall behind him. Meanwhile, robots no doubt made by Ultron dropped down and began attacking the Avengers that were still on the bridge. As Kya quickly open her waterskin, she saw Pietro began to run out of the corner of her eye while Wanda stayed where she was. The silver haired woman felt something soft very briefly press against her cheek before the silver blur knocked into Thor and speeding off.

 _Did_ _he_ _just_ _kiss_ _me_ _?!?_ _On_ _the_ _cheek_ _?!?_

The waterbender's eyes widened as she quickly flung a stream of water that was as sharp as a sword through the arm of a robot moments before it could bash in her skull. As the fight continued, Kya tried to keep an eye on the Maximoffs, but Wanda had quickly disappeared and Pietro was only a silver blur that was too distracting. Although she did giggle when she saw him try to grab Mjlonir out of the air but was quickly sent to the floor below.

The silver haired woman quickly jumped over to where he was before stabbing his shirt with an icicle. "Stay down Pietro..... Please."

She quickly spotted a robot aiming for Steve before vaulting over the man out of time's head to take it out, completely missing the challenging look on the Sokovian Speedster's face as she did.

After taking a few robots and mercenaries alike out, Kya heard one of the robots speak.

"It's time for some mind games."

_Wanda_ _._

"Guys stay on guard! Wanda's-"

Just like in Sokovia, something strong and warm picked her up and the silver haired woman gasped as her breath was taken away at a fantastic speed. She quickly looked around to see she was in a dark room, and sunlight flitted in from the rooftop littered with holes.

It only took her two seconds to see that she wasn't alone.

Kya glared at the Sokovian Speedster as he looked at her smugly while he crushed her commlink between his pointer finger and thumb again just like last time. Ripping the moisture out of the air, the waterbender quickly sent a sharp stream in Pietro direction. The silver haired man dodged her attacks before quickly running at her and knocking her over.

But did her run away after that?

No.

Instead, Pietro straddled Kya's waist and wrapped his fingers around her wrists to prevent her from bending.

"Alone at last, _Princessa_."

Even though it was impossible in every sense of the word, the waterbender tried to ignore how close the handsome man on top of her was.

She struggled to throw his muscular form away. "Get off me!"

Pietro tutted. "Ah ah ah, not until I get an _apology_."

Kya's struggling stopped. She looked up into the amused blue eyes of the silver speedster confusedly. "An apolo-"

"For you and my sister using my mind as a playground."

She froze. "You felt us?"

The amusement faded a little from Pietro's eyes. "I felt you the moment you stepped into my memory. It was nice, soft, at first. But then Wanda interfered...."

Kya winced as the pain he felt that night flickered through their bond, surprising them both. It's been about a week, and that was enough time for Kya to develop a hell of a lot of guilt for going through his mind like she did.

"I.... I'm sorry. I should not have perverted your mind like I did. Especially if you..... Enjoyed me being in your mind."

Her cheeks blossomed red at the end of her apology, and she quickly looked away. Kya felt Pietro's fingers loosen against her wrists, and knew she should throw him off..... But she didn't.

Instead, she looked up at the man that was holding her captive, and saw that the light that was filtering in from the holes in the roof created a halo around Pietro's silver hair. That combined with his eyes that held emotions so soft, Kya felt the heat in her cheeks grow.

"I'll give you three seconds to slap me."

The waterbender looked at him quickly. "Wait why?!?"

Pietro smirked before closing his eyes and lowered his mouth towards hers. But before their lips could touch, the speedster's face contorted into pain, and he cried out before burying his face in Kya's shoulder.

The silver haired woman was oddly still able to form semi-coherent sentences despite what _almost_ just happened.

"What-"

"I-it's Wanda. S-Something is wrong."

Kya just stared up at the ceiling as a million emotions ran through her system, some of them not her own. Her hand came up and her fingers lightly buried themselves in Pietro's silver hair.

"Go."

When he lifted his head from her shoulder with a confused expression on his face, the waterbender pressed a kiss to his temple.

"Go help your sister."

Pietro looked at Kya before pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth.

"This _will_ _not_ be the last time we see each other."

And with that, he got off and disappeared in a silver blur. Kya didn't get up though. Instead, she kept her eyes on the light that come through the ceiling.

"I know."


	9. Chapter 9

Kya slowly stood up and walked out of the room, almost running directly into Clint.

"Where's your commlimk?!?"

The waterbender looked away before blushing with embarrassment. "Maximoff destroyed it when he brought me here."

Clint's sharp eyes snapped to hers. "He didn't-"

"NO! He claimed he just wanted to talk."

The archer raised an eyebrow before deciding to leave that conversation for later. "Lover Boy's sister tried to use her enhancements on me. We have to assume-"

Kya's blue eyes widened in alarm. "That she used it on the others."

The two quickly ran to the lower levels of the ship and immediately spotted Natasha. As they ran to her side, the waterbender saw Steve slowly walking away with a haunted expression on his face.

She looked at Clint who saw the super soldier from the corner of his eye. When he nodded, Kya ran to the man who was like a brother to her before gently placing a hand on his shoulder. Steve turned around, but slowly, and it was like he couldn't see her.

The silver haired woman frowned, not even wanting to imagine what the man out of time was seeing. "Don't worry Steve, I'll make them go away."

Quickly coating her hands with the clean water from her waterskin, Kya places her hands on the sides of Steve's head and concentrated. She saw flashes of a club in the 1940s, probably at the end of WW2, but it was twisted, wrong. And she saw Peggy Carter, the woman who had Steve's heart before he went into the ice.

 _"_ _We_ _can_ _go_ _home_ _."_

Kya concentrated harder. _'_ _No_ _,_ _the_ _Avengers_ _are_ _your_ _home_ _Steve_ _._ _We're_ _your_ _family_ _._ _None_ _of_ _this_ _is_ _real_ _, come_ _back_ _!'_

With a gasp, the vision of the mutilated club and Peggy Carter disappeared. Kya pulled her hands away as Steve blinked and looked around frantically. "Kya what-"

"Wanda Maximoff happened. Everyone else besides Clint, myself, and hopefully Banner got hit."

The super soldier shook his head to get rid of the aftereffects of Wanda's mind-probing. Kya turned just in time to see Clint carrying Natasha bridal style.

"We gotta go."

A deep sense of dread filled the waterbender. "What-"

"Maximoff got to Banner. Stark called on Veronica to snap him out of it."

After finding Thor, the three Avengers that were still functioning properly - or partially in Steve's case - hauled him and Natasha to the Quin-Jet. During the flight to Bruce and Tony's location, Kya cleared the visions from her surrogate mother and the thunder god's minds. But there wasn't much she could do for the aftereffects.

Bruce was a wreak when Steve helped Tony bring him into the Quin-Jet. When Kya approached him to heal his mind, he shook his head.

"The vision already gone."

The silver haired Avenger pursed her lips sadly before wrapping her arms around the scientist comfortingly. Afterwards, she retired to her designated corner of the jet to meditate.

She had a lot to clear from her head.

Straightening her spine, Kya took a deep breath to calm herself and retreated to the spiritual sanctuary her meditations offered.

 _I_ _can't_ _believe_ _I_ _let_ _Piet-_ _Maximoff_ _distract_ _me_ _like_ _he_ _did_ _._ _My_ _family_ _is_ _hurting_ _because_ _of_ _it_ _!_

 _Because_ _I_ _was_ _distracted_ _!_

Somewhere, she felt a little prick of confusion, which morphed into curiosity. Kya could feel that the curiosity wasn't her own and quickly focused on it.

It felt very familiar. Almost like-

_No_ _._ _Way_ _._

She knew what she had to do in order to prove her suspicions correct. And she really didn't like it.

_'_ _Pietro_ _?'_

The curiosity turned into a mixture of surprise and recognition before turning cautious.

 _'_ Princessa _?'_

 _Dammit_ _,_ _I_ _was_ _right_ _._

 _'_ _Stop_ _calling_ _me_ _that_ _!_ _Call_ _me_ _Kya_ _or_ _don't_ _call_ _me_ _anything_ _.'_

Warmth filled the air. _'_ _It_ _is_ _you_ _!_ _I'd_ _know_ _your_ _fighting_ _spirit_ _anywhere.'_

Kya scoffed. It was silent until the warmth turned to smugness.

 _'_ _And_ _now_ _I_ _have_ _your_ _name_ _.'_

The waterbender froze when she realized that she did indeed say her birth name instead of her Avenger name.

Smugness turned back into warmth, only slightly more heated. _'_ _Kya_ _...._ _Fitting_ _.'_

_'_ _How_ _?'_

The air became warmer. _'_ _Beautiful_ _name_ _for_ _a_ _beautiful_ _girl_ _.'_

Emotions that she couldn't - or wouldn't - name ran through her. Quickly shaking them away, Kya let herself bristle with anger.

 _'_ _You_ _knew_ _what_ _your_ _sister_ _was_ _going_ _to_ _do_ _,_ _didn't_ _you_ _?'_

A sigh was heard before he answered. _'_ _She's_ _my_ _sister_ _and_ _she's_ _been_ _doing_ _the_ _same_ _thing_ _for_ _a_ _week_ _._ _Yes_ _I_ _knew_ _.'_

The anger intensified. _'_ _That's_ _my_ _family's_ _psyche_ _she_ _terrorized_ _today_ _.'_

A sudden realization came over Kya. Something that happened both this time and last time they met in Sokovia.

 _'_ _Why_ _didn't_ _your_ _sister_ _use_ _her_ _abilities_ _on_ _me_ _the_ _last_ _time_ _?_ _And_ _this_ _time_ _....._ _Why_ _did_ _you_ _take_ _me_ _away?'_

Hesitation. And then, _'_ _You_ _are_ _different_ _.'_

 _'_ _How_ _the_ _Hell_ _am_ _I_ _different_ _?!?_ _I_ _fight_ _for_ _the_ _exact_ _same_ _thing_ _that_ _the_ _rest_ _of_ _the_ _Avengers_ _fight_ _for_ _!!!'_

Before Pietro could reply, Kya shook her head even though the man on the other side couldn't see. _'_ _Don't_ _._ _This_ _was_ _a_ _mistake_ _.'_

_'Kya-'_

With that, Kya pulled out of her meditations and away from Pietro Maximoff.

When she opened her eyes, it was obvious that it's been some time since she started meditating. Seeing that her fellow Avengers were still out of sorts, the waterbender rubbed a hand over her face before standing up.

"The news is _loving_ you guys."

Kya rested an elbow on Tony's chair where he was video-chatting Maria. "Let me guess, everyone else isn't?"

Maria only gave a sad smile in confirmation before speaking again. "There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air."

Out of the corner of her eye, the silver haired woman saw Bruce flinch before pulling the blanket he had around his shoulders tighter. Kya looked around to see Natasha staring into space with a haunted expression on her face. The same expression was on Thor and Steve's face, vacant and haunted.

She can remember another time when the atmosphere was this somber for the Avengers.

 **-Flashback** -

He'll be okay.... He has to be okay!

 _Kya_ _said these words like a mantra in her head as she_ _ran_ _as_ _fast_ _as_ _she_ _could_ _to_ _the_ _cell_ _that_ _held_ _Loki_ _before_ _he_ _escaped_ _._ _A_ _wave_ _of_ _cold_ _had_ _dumped_ _itself_ _in_ _her_ _when_ _she_ _heard_ _Coulson_ _was_ _injured_ _. The_ _agent_ _who_ _delivered_ _the_ _news_ _wasn't_ _even_ _done_ _talking_ _when_ _she_ _started_ _running_ _towards_ _the_ _cell_ _._

 _But_ _apparently_ _,_ _she_ _wasn't_ _fast_ _enough_ _._

 _As_ _soon_ _as_ _she_ _threw_ _the_ _door open_ _,_ _she_ _froze_ _._

 _The_ _medic_ _team_ _had_ _already_ _brought_ _a_ _body_ _bag_ _._

 _Coulson_ _was_ _dead_ _._ _Kya's_ _hand_ _flew_ _to_ _her_ _mouth_ _,_ _but_ _that_ _didn't_ _stop_ _the_ _scream_ _from_ _escaping_ _._ _All_ _around_ _her_ _,_ _pipes_ _burst_ _because_ _of_ _how_ _much_ _pressure_ _was_ _being_ _applied_ _._ _As_ _water_ _leaked_ _onto_ _the_ _floor_ _,_ _the_ _silver_ _haired_ _girl_ _fell_ _to_ _her_ _knees_ _as_ _tears_ _poured_ _down_ _her_ _face._ _Nick_ _was_ _suddenly_ _there_ _._ _He_ _wrapped_ _his_ _arms_ _around_ _her_ _shoulders_ _and_ _pulled_ _her_ _close_ _._

 _"_ _I-I_ _could_ _have_ _s-saved_ _him_ _."_

 _Nick_ _didn't_ _say_ _anything_ _._ _There_ _was_ _so_ _much_ _going_ _on_ _,_ _and_ _he_ _wasn't_ _just_ _thinking_ _about_ _Loki_ _._

**-End** **of** **Flashback-**

The waterbender's hand tightened into a fist in anger at the sight of what Wanda Maximoff did. Because of her, Bruce's already fragile confidence in his control was cracking. Because of her, Natasha re-lived some of her worst memories.

The next meeting between the Avengers and Ultron was going to be _fun_.

"So run and hide?"

Kya blinked out of her thoughts before lightly pushing off of Tony's chair before walking to where Clint was in the pilot seat.

"Until we can find Ultron, that's all I can offer."

Bright blue eyes closed in exhaustion before opening again as Kya leaned against Clint's chair. The archer looked at the silver haired Avenger's exhausted face before smiling sympathetically. After he'd turn the computer off, Tony joined the two former agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., his tone lacking it's usual smart ass.

"Hey, wanna switch out?"

The archer shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time, we're still a few hours out."

Tony's eyebrows furrowed. "A few hours from what?"

Kya, who once again knew _exactly_ what Clint was talking about, shared a smile with said man. "A safehouse."

 **-Time** **Skip** -

The silver haired avenger smiled when the Quin-Jet landed in the field that was in front of the farmhouse she spent every summer at since Clint and Natasha took her in. She helped Clint support Nat, who was still not completely back to herself, as the walked through the field and up the porch steps.

Thor's voice was both confused and cautious. "What is this place?"

Kya rolled her eyes when Tony respond, his usual smart ass matter returned to it's rightful place. "A safehouse."

Clint looked over his shoulder as Kya pushed the door open. "It's open."

Just like the last time the silver haired woman was there, the house was gorgeous and gave off a friendly and happy vibe. And just like last time, the smell of cookies added to the homey aura.

"Honey? I'm home."

A heavily pregnant woman - Kya knew to be Laura Barton, who was like _another_ mother to the waterbender - walked around the corner from the kitchen. She was carrying a few scraps of paper in her hand, which she quickly put on the table and smiled when as Clint walked closer.

"Hi, company. Sorry we didn't call ahead."

The two embraced before Laura grabbed Clint's face and pulled it down for a kiss. "Hey."

Tony couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. "This has to be an agent of some kind."

Kya giggled before shaking her head. "I promise that this is all real."

The archer slung an arm over Laura's shoulders before turning back to his team. "Gentlemen, this is Laura."

The pregnant woman smiled before waving awkwardly. "I know all your names."

Laura spotted Kya standing next to Natasha, and her smile widened. "Especially _your_ name."

The waterbender smiled before quickly walking into the hug that was offered to her. "Hi Laura!"

The older woman pulled back to press a kiss to Kya's cheek. "Hi River. "

River was the nickname Laura gave Kya when said silver haired girl was little after seeing her waterbending. Suddenly, little footsteps could heard coming down the stairs, to which Clint grinned at. "Uh oh, incoming."

Two children, a little boy of nine and a little girl of six, ran around the corner and into their father's arms. "Hi sweetheart, hey buddy!"

Tony once again spoke in disbelief. "These are.... Smaller agents."

Kya slightly pulled away from Laura to look at the billionaire with a raised eyebrow. "Once again Stark, I promise that this is all real."

The little girl, Lila pulled away from Clint. "Did you bring Kya and Aunty Nat?"

A small grin appeared across Natasha's face as she stepped forward. "Why don't ya hug them and find out?"

Lila went for Nat while Cooper went straight for Kya, who swept him up into her arms with a huge smile. Meanwhile Steve, ever the gentleman, smiled awkwardly. "Sorry for barging in on you-"

"We would've called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed."

The silver haired woman rolled her eyes at Tony's blunt behavior as Clint started talking. "Yeah, Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files, and I'd like to keep it that way. I figured that it would be a good place to lie low."

As Cooper and Lila led her over to the kitchen table to help with drawings, Kya heard a slight crunch and turned around just in time to see Thor sweeping what looked like a very much destroyed Lego house under the couch. Rolling her eyes at his guilty face, the waterbender sat down as Natasha talked to Laura.

"So how's little Natasha?"

Laura grimaced playfully. "She is..... Nathaniel."

The red head's face was mock scandalized as she bent down to talk to the baby bump. "Traitor."


	10. Chapter 10

Kya's muscles jumped when the cold water from the shower head hit her. Since Water Island had more frigid climates than the other islands, she was used and often preferred colder temperatures. Pushing her long silver hair away from her face before sliding to sit in the tub, she let her mind wander.

_Tui_ _and_ _Lah_ _why? Why did you bind me to the enemy?_

Now that she actually communicated with Pietro through their bond, she found herself knowing certain things about the silver haired speedster that she doubted anyone but himself and his sister would know. Like how he loved when his mother baked a traditional Sokovian treat called _knedle_ on every December twenty-third. Like how he broke his arm jumping off a snow pile a few months before the Bombing.

Like how she's the only thing he's been thinking about from the moment they met.

A thought entered the waterbender's head... If she suddenly knew all these things about Pietro, he probably knew things about her too.

Things that only Clint, Natasha, and herself should know.

Swearing, Kya carefully stood up and turned the shower off before stepping out and using her bending to dry off. Changing into the clothes she brought in with her, she padded over to the small bathroom mirror that sat above the sink. As she stared at her reflection, she saw the same face that has greeted her her entire life whenever she looked in a mirror. The same face that let her surrogate family's psyche be ripped to shreds by an enhanced.

She smiled sadly. _Fourteen years later, and so much has changed._

A sudden idea came to her. It was probably childish, but what the hell?

She brushed her hair before using a few small hair-ties to separate two sections of her long hair on both sides of her face. After that was done, she pulled half of her hair up into a bun, but left the other half down. Then she used a few bobby-pins to pin the sections of hair to the bun. As she reached to braid the hair she had left down, her fingers froze. She locked eyes with her reflection, and lowered her hands.

**(Author's Note: Just imagine Katara's hairstyle in ATLA Season 3)**

_No. Not that far. I won't be the same girl who let Senna control her._

With that being thought, she bended the water from her hair, looked at her reflection one last time, she turned and walked out of the bathroom...

...And almost walked straight into Steve.

The super soldier took a few steps back and raised an eyebrow at the silver hair that cascaded down her back. "I think this is the first time I've seen your hair down."

A small smile spread across Kya's lips. "Not true... when we were running from Hydra my hair was down."

Steve chuckled. "It was tucked up in hat Kya."

This time, the silver haired woman laughed dryly. "Touché... I just needed a little change."

He understood right away that she was talking about what happened in Wakanda. Taking a few steps forward he opened his arms for a hug and smiled reassuringly. "Come here."

Kya walked forward and let Steve wrap her in a reassuring hug, the top of her head coming to rest a couple of inches below his collarbone.

"I could have stopped-"

The man out of time cut her off. "What happened in Wakanda wasn't your fault. Maximoff caught you off guard, that's happened to all of us at one point or another."

The waterbender smiled. She knew that she could always count on Steve to be the big brother she could talk to when she couldn't talk to the one she had on the Islands. "I know, I was there when you were accosted by that group of ladies in New York, remember?"

He pulled back with a look of mock-dryness. "Ha ha."

Kya smirked. Keeping her eyes on his face, she could see faint irritation in Steve's eyes. But not at her.

He saw her observing eyes and shook his head. "Later, I promise."

The silver haired woman smiled. "Okay... I didn't use any of the hot water so feel free to use what you need."

Steve smiled and hugged her one more time. "I'm serious Kya, what happened in Wakanda-"

"-Wasn't my fault. I know."

Letting her go, the super soldier patted her shoulder before turning and walking into the bathroom. Smiling, Kya turned to walk out of the room Natasha, who looked at her hair with pleasant surprise.

"It's been a while since I've seen your hair down."

A small smile spread across the younger of the two's face. "I decided it was time for a change."

A small smile spread across the red head's lips as she snorted. Since she knew her so well, the waterbender could see the pain of haunting memories behind the older woman's humorless grin. Not even thinking twice, Kya walked forward and wrapped her arms around her surrogate mother. Natasha didn't hesitate to return the hug as she took a shaky deep breath.

She didn't have to ask what exactly the ex-red room assassin saw, because she already knew.

"Do you-"

Natasha pulled away to look Kya in the eye. "No, what's done is done."

She squeezed her surrogate daughter's shoulders before smiling the same mirthless, empty smile from moments before. "Lila and Cooper were looking for you earlier, they're downstairs."

Taking the que that she wanted to be alone, the silver haired woman hugged Natasha again before turning and leaving the room.

As she walked down the hallway, she thought back to the bond she now had with Pietro. She remembered a story that was told repeatedly among the islands. The story of Katara and Zuko, and how they found love when the islands were at war with each other.

**(Author's Note: Zutara FOREVER ❤❤❤!!!!)**

Thinking back to the many times her grandmother told her that story - she often begged to hear it since it was her favorite story - Kya remembered that Katara and Zuko had a similar bond with each other.

At this, the silver haired woman froze.

_There's no way he could... love me, is there?_

The completely illogical side of her brain that sounded so much like Tony it was terrifying whispered evilly. _But you're the only think he's thought about since you met._

Shaking her head to rid her face of the growing heat, Kya walked down the stairs and saw Lila and Cooper in the living room. The former spotted her and smiled.

"Kya come draw with me!"

**-Time Skip-**

Voices coming up the path caused Kya's head to snap in the direction on the door. Smiling widely, the waterbender quickly stood up and nearly sprinted out the door before throwing her arms around Nick Fury's neck.

The former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. patted her back affectionately. "Alright alright, get off me."

Kya grinned before pulling back, but stayed close as the two of them plus Tony made their way back up the stairs and into the kitchen, where the rest of the Avengers minus Thor had gathered. The waterbender took a seat next to Natasha, who had her attention on the ex-director of S.H.I.E.L.D just as he started talking.

"Ultron took you folks out of the play to buy himself more time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with... I don't think it's just one thing."

Lila had walked over to Kya and Natasha sitting before showing them the picture she made. The ex-red room assasin grinned before cupping the little girl's cheek while the silver haired woman squeezed her surrogate sister's shoulder lovingly.

Meanwhile Steve, who looked better than he did when they arrived, leaned against the wall. "What about Ultron himself?"

Nick snorted. "He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though."

Tony, who had wandered over to the dart board, didn't look at Nick as he threw darts. "He still going after the launch codes?"

"Yes he is. But he's not making any headway."

The billionaire no-longer-a-playboy snorted. "I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in High School on a dare."

Kya raised an eyebrow, remembering when she read about that during her grounding. "That was you?"

Knowing that she was referring to a time when she was grounded, Tony raised an eyebrow. "It made it onto S.H.I.E.L.D files?"

Nick cleared his throat to get the two back on task. "I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that"

Steve's eyebrows furrowed. "Nexus?"

Bruce looked at his teammate. "It's the world Internet hub in Oslo. Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth"

Clint fiddled with the dart in his hands. "What'd they say?"

"He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed."

Tony frowned. "By who?"

The billionaire no-longer-a-playboy quickly jerked his head back to avoid the dart Clint had thrown, who smirked and shrugged cheekily at the genius. Kya unsuccessfully tried to stop the giggles from escaping as Nick started talking again.

"Parties unknown."

Kya perked up. "We have an ally?"

The ex-director of S.H.I.E.L.D shook his head. "Ultron had an enemy, that's _not_ the same thing... Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is."

Tony wandered back from the dartboard. "I might need to visit Oslo, find our unknown."

From next to her, Natasha sighed. "Well this is good times boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that."

"I do. I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction."

Nick indicated to the kitchen around him. "All this, laid in a grave."

Kya's eyes wandered around her summer home, remembering every moment she spent here, and thinking of it all disappearing.

"So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard."

The red head smirked before looking at the doorway. "Steve doesn't like that kind of talk."

Said super soldier shook his head, a tiny grin tugging at his lips. "You know what Romanoff?"

The waterbender really perked up this time. Banter between Steve and Nat wasn't unusual, but something was different this time. The way that they looked at each other was tender, and the grins in their faces were softer than usual.

Something happened between them.

And she wanted to know what.

But, that would have to wait until later.

"So what does he want?"

Steve let his gaze leave the ex-red room assassin. "To become better... better than us. He keeps building bodies."

Tony spoke up. "Person bodies. The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it."

Kya noticed Bruce had stood a little behind her and her surrogate mother. He reaches between them to get a better look at the picture Lila had drawn them, wheels turning in his head.

Nat smirked humorlessly. ""When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed."

Bruce spoke up. "They don't need to be protected. They need to evolve."

He looked up at the team, revelation dawning on his face. "Ultron's going to evolve."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "How?"

The scientist's face turned grim. "Has anyone heard from Helen Cho?'

This sent them into action. Everyone quickly grabbed their gear and changed into their uniforms. After Kya stepped out of her room wearing hers, she came face-to-face with a somber Lila and Cooper.

"You just got here."

The waterbender smiled sadly as she took her surrogate siblings hands and crouched in front of them. "I know. Once this is all over, I'll come stay longer."

"Promise?"

She smiled again before squeezing their hands. "Promise."

Standing up, Kya made her way downstairs just in time to hear Steve talking.

"I'll take Natasha, Clint, and Kya."

Tony walked from the kitchen. "Alright, strictly recon. I'll hit the Nexus, I'll join you as soon as I can."

Kya walked with them to the door. "If Ultron's really building a body...

The Billionaire no-longer-a-playboy saw where she was going. "He'll be more powerful than any of us, maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot."

Steve sighed irritably. "You know, I miss the days when the weirdest thing science created was me."

Kya snorted in agreement as Nick passed them. "I'll drop Banner off at the tower. You mind if I borrow Miss Hill?"

"She's all yours, apparently. What are you gonna do?"

Kya smirked at the secretive light in the ex-director's eyes. "I don't know. Something dramatic, I hope."

The Avengers began to walk out of the house and head to the jet. On her way out, Kya stopped and let Laura pull her in a hug.

"Be safe River."

The silver haired woman smiled as she pulled back. "I will, and I'll keep Clint safe too, promise."

Laura smiled before squeezed her surrogate sister's shoulder. Kya smiled back before turning and joining her team in the Quin-Jet. For a moment, she considered opening her bond with Pietro to see of she could find any information that would help them. But for some reason, she convinced herself not to because she felt it wad too cruel.

 _Besides, if he felt it_ _when_ _Wanda_ _and I were using it as a playground, he'll definitely feel it if I'm poking around in there. Either way, ready or not Maximoffs, here I come._


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the Silver Waters Playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.

The moment Kya and Steve landed on the rooftop of Helen Cho's facility, the pair ran inside to see destroyed halls and massacred staff. And based on the missing cradle, they had just missed Ultron and the Maximoff twins.

Spotting a barely alive Helen, the waterbender ran over and quickly set to work on healing the wounds with the water from her waterskin while Steve crouched next to the pair.

"What happened?"

Dr. Cho took a deep breath and tried to sit up. "He's uploading himself into the body!

Kya placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Easy."

"Where?"

Helen winced as Kya continued to heal her. "The real power is inside The Cradle. The gem... its power is uncontainable! You can't just blow it up, you have to get the Cradle to Stark!"

The silver haired woman turned to look at the man out of time. "We have to find it first."

With her wounds being healed, Dr. Cho sat up slowly. "Go, I'll be fine."

The two Avengers quickly stood up and went back to the roof, Kya pressing a finger to her comm. "Did you get that?"

Clint responded from the Quin-Jet. "We did."

Nat's voice followed. "I got a private jet taking off across town, no manifest. That could be him."

"There! It's a truck from the lab. Right above you guys, on the loop by the bridge, it's them. You got three with the Cradle, one in the cab. I could take out the driver."

Steve voice was sharp as he and Kya climbed up to the freeway. "Negative. If the truck crashes, the gem could level the city."

Kya's eyebrows furrowed. "We need to draw out Ultron."

The two shared a look before taking a few steps backwards from the edge. In complete sync, they both jumped over the railing and landed on top of the truck with the thud. The man out of time rolled and clung to the side of the trucks back door, and without warning, a blast of energy forced the doors open, and he clung to it desperately as it fell, dragging behind the truck.

"Well, he's definitely unhappy. I'll try and keep it that way."

Kya rushed to the back of the truck and used a water-whip to wrap around the super soldier's waist, quickly pulled him back to her direction.

"You're no match for him Cap, even with Tsunami with you."

Steve sighed. "Thanks Barton."

Ultron came out of the truck and sent a blast in the super soldier's direction, sending him flying back into a car. Kya created an ice bow and arrow before firing. The homicidal AI quickly whipped around before catching the arrow and crushing it. Without warning, he flew up to the top of the truck and wrapped a hand around her throat.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me where your powers come from?"

The waterbender gasped for air. "That's... still... a... no..."

Steve used a passing garbage truck to flip back on top. Ultron spared him a glance before throwing Kya in his direction.

"You know what's in that Cradle?"

Steve ran forward so the impact wouldn't send them to the street and caught the silver haired woman with a grunt.

"The power to make real change. And that _terrifies_ you."

Kya stood on her own before glaring at Ultron. "We wouldn't exactly call it a comfort."

She ripped the moisture out of the air and created a block of ice before sending it flying towards the 'bot. But before it could hit him, a red beam blasted through it. The waterbender turned the blocks of ice back to liquid form before she and Steve rolled to avoid more blasts from Ultron. She aimed icicles at the AI's to distract it so the super soldier could throw his shield, embedding it in Ultron's chest.

The AI growled before pushing the shield away, sending it to the street below. "Stop it!"

Ultron flew at them again. The two Avengers kept up the fight until Kya saw Natasha driving up to them with Steve's shield. The two shared a look before the ex-red room assassin threw the shield up to her. The silver haired woman caught it before turning back to the fight.

"Cap!"

Moments after the super soldier looked at her, she threw the shield towards him. Steve knocked Ultron off the trailer and into one of the columns of the bridge. Only for the AI to recover quickly and fly back towards them.

"Clint! Can you draw out the guards?"

Over head Clint flew and fired at Ultron. The few iron legion guards flew from inside the trailer and took flight after the jet. Kys braced herself for Ultron's attack and opened her waterskin. The icicles seemed to only slow him down momentarily as he continued towards them. A final swing from Steve's shield knocked Ultron off the trailer again and back into another column. He came back seconds later, tackling both Avengers and flying them straight back into the train that had been running along side the road they had been on.

Clint's voice came over the comm, probably talking to Natasha. "They're heading back towards you. So whatever you're going to do, do it now."

Kya winced as she landed roughly against the seats. Near by Steve was keeping Ultron occupied, and around her were hurt and/or terrified passengers who kept looking between to two Avengers.

"I'm going in. Cap, can you keep him occupied? Tsunami?"

Steve sighed. "What do you think we've been doing?"

Kya stood up before running head first into the fight. She pushed Steve out of the way before Ultron could slam him into the corner. Unfortunately, that meant she was now in the way, and bit back a scream of pain as Ultron slammed his first onto her wrist, effectively fracturing it.

The super soldier tackled the AI away from her. And then suddenly, there was a gust of wind, and blur came out of nowhere, taking Kya with it as it forced Ultron away from Steve. A red hazy mist bent and twisted metal bars in the train and blocked Ultron from coming after them. The waterbender turned to see Pietro standing next to her, his eyes traced over her before coming to rest on her fractured wrist, eyes harding with hostility... But not towards her.

"Please... Don't do this."

She turned and looked to see Wanda facing Ultron.

"What choice do we have?"

Knowing that this meant that the Maximoff twins defected from the homicidal AI, Kya rolled her eyes before addressing the Sokovian Speedster. "And here I was _so_ looking forward to kicking your ass Maximoff."

Turning his gaze back to Ultron, Pietro chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint _Princessa_."

Ultron raised his arm and fired a bolt of energy out of the end of the train before flying out. Kya and Steve ran after him to the end, only to see that conductor of the train lay badly wounded in front of the completely damaged controls.

Steve gritted his teeth in frustration. "We lost him!"

Clint's voice came across the comm. "Cap. you see Nat?"

Kya froze. _No... no no no please don't be dead.... Мамочка паук please don't be dead!!!!_

"If you have the package, get it to Stark! Go!"

"Do you have eyes on Nat?!"

The silver haired woman could tell that Steve was conflicted. On one hand, Nat was now missing and the man out of time's feelings for the red head weren't being very helpful. But on the other hand, they couldn't let Ultron and his drones get a hold of the Cradle again.

"Go!"

Steve turned to the male Maximoff. "Civilians in our path."

Pietro looked at his sister briefly before turning his gaze to Kya. And once again, his blue eyes held emotions that she wouldn't decifer. Then, he sped outside to clear the way.

Leaving Wanda with them.

Steve looked at the female Maximoff. "Can you stop the train?"

For the first time since they've met, Wanda looked worried. Kya stalked over to her and gripped her shoulders tightly. "Wanda, if you don't stop this thing, the people on it are going to _die_."

The Sokovian native gave a shaky nod over her head before extracting herself from the other woman's grasp. Focusing, red energy shot from her fingertips, slowing the train down before coming to a complete stop.

As Kya and Steve helped civilians off the train, Wanda ran to her twin brother, who was bent over trying to catch his breath.

"Are you alright?"

Pietro waved her off as he sat back. "I'm fine. I just need to take a minute."

Steve stalked towards the pair, anger radiating. "I'm very tempted not to give you one."

Kya stood back as Wanda looked at the man out of time. "The Cradle, did you get it?"

Steve sounded like he was trying to convince himself as well as the female Maximoff. "Stark will take care of it."

Wanda's shoulders drooped. "No he won't."

"Stark's not crazy-"

Kya walked forward, holding her fractured wrist in her good hand. "Think about it Cap. At this point, he'll do anything to make things right."

Knowing deep down that she was right, a worried look passed over the man out of time's face. "Stark, come in... Stark..... Anyone on comms?"

Wanda took a few cautious steps forward. "Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it... where do you think he gets that from?"

_Huh, looks like Ultron really is a child of Stark._

Kya looked at the twins. In their files, it said that they signed up for Stucker's experiments in order to protect their country. Just like Steve had. Ultron misled them, and it was clear that they both felt guilt about it. "Come with us. You want a chance at redemption? Then help us destroy Ultron."

Wanda walked back to her brother's side. He looked down at her, and Kya remembered the vision she had when the female Maximoff communicated with her brother mentally with her powers. After a while, they looked at the two Avengers.

"We will help you."

Steve nodded shortly. Now that he caught his breath, Pietro pushed off the wall and walked towards Kya. The waterbender kept her eyes on him as he came closer. When he was within reaching distance of her, the speedster carefully took her fractured wrist in his hand.

"How bad is it?"

The silver haired woman contained her wince at the slight spike of pain. "Trust me, I've had worse."

The speedster clenched his jaw, clearly not liking the idea of her having injuries worse than a fractured wrist. But the hardness in his face was gone a split second later as he gently lifted her wrist up before pressing a kiss to it.

Warmth rapidly spread through her cheeks and down her neck. The kiss on the forehead in Sokovia and the almost kiss in Africa came into mind as Kya stared at Pietro.

"Why are you doing this?"

There was nothing but sincerity in the speedster's blue eyes. "Forgive me, but I hate seeing the woman I love hurt."

All the breath in Kya's body disappeared. Over Pietro's shoulder, she could see Wanda with a surprised but proud look on her face.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Steve.

"Kya, a word _please_."

Sensing the conversation that was going to happen, the silver haired woman sighed before carefully pulling her wrist from Pietro's grasp and turning and jogging after the man out of time. Behind her she heard the following footsteps of the twins.

When Kya caught up with Steve, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "We need to get back to Dr. Cho's lab. I think we'll be able to find something to get us back to the tower."

Steve nodded but didn't speak. Wincing, the waterbender turned her head towards him. "Steve-"

The super soldier eyes were hard as he looked at her.

"Kya, the entire reason this is all happening in the first place is because of secrets. You're the last person who I thought would keep something like _this_ from anyone."

He stopped abruptly, startling the twins who stopped a few feet behind them.

"So please, explain to me _exactly_ what is happening between you and Pietro."

The silver haired woman knew exactly what she had to say. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Pietro looking at her intently, waiting to see if she was actually going to do it.

_Well, I've never been one to disappoint._

"During the raid on the Sokovian Base... somehow, Pietro and I formed a mental bond with each other. I... I've been able to see visions from his past, and he's seen visions of mine."

At Steve's alarmed look, she shook her head. "He didn't known that we were going to the scrap yard-"

"That's not what I'm worried about. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Pursing her lips, Kya tried to squash down her guilt. "I thought if I could figure out what the bond was exactly, I could destroy it."

She decided to ignore the growl came from behind her that sounded suspiciously like it came from next to Wanda as she kept her eyes on Steve. "Everyone was already worrying and turning against each other. You didn't need another thing to worry about."

The super soldier's eyes softened and he placed a hand on the waterbender's shoulder. "You shouldn't have to keep secrets from us Kya, we're family. We help each other."

She lowered her eyes to the ground. "I know."

Steve squeezed her shoulder. "You know you're going to have tell Natasha and Clint about the bond when this is over, right?"

Kya groaned. "Don't remind me."

**-Time Skip-**

Hours later, the silver haired woman sat near the back of the jet - that Dr. Cho let them use - healing her wrist, thoughts of today's fight going though her head.

"You can heal with your powers?"

She looked up just in time to see Wanda sit across from her. The brunette was looking at Kya wrist that was encased in glowing water.

"Yeah, some waterbenders have healing abilities."

Wanda tilted her head to the side.  
"There are more of you?"

Kya narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, there are different benders too.... what's this about Wanda? I'm guessing you didn't come over here to talk about my bending."

"You don't truly believe what my brother said, do you?"

The waterbender sighed. "I believe the bond has something to do with his... feelings. But what deters me is that the bond is the only reason why he feels something for me."

The female Maximoff chuckled. "Well, then allow me to put your worries to rest. Before he knew the bond even existed, before it was even affective, he had feelings for you."

A warm blush spread across her cheeks. "B-But that doesn't make any sense-"

Wanda grinned dryly. "Have you learned nothing from our previous meetings? My brother does everything fast. Just something to keep in mind."

Kya watched her stand up and walk away, only to quickly look back at what she was doing before when Pietro took his sister's place. The silver haired woman tried to focus on finishing healing her wrist, but the eyes drilling a hole into her head made it somewhat difficult. Giving up, the silver-haired woman bended the water back into waterskin with a huff before looking at Pietro with a glare. "Can I help you with-"

"That woman... your teacher..."

A wave of cold dumped itself over her head. Trying her best to control her breathing - and failing miserably - she looked at the speedster with wide eyes. But before she could find her voice, Pietro continued on.

"What was she doing you?"

Unwanted memories of training on the Water Island came flooding back. Memories of an all-too familiar grip on her entire being sprung from the deepest depths of her mind. And suddenly, there were warm hands cupping her face.

"Look at me _Princessa_."

Pietro lifted her face so they were looking each other dead in the eye, his thumbs brushing over her cheekbones comfortingly. "Deep breaths."

Kya did as she was told. Eventually, calming down enough to talk. "Thank you."

The speedster kept his bright blue eyes locked with hers. "You don't have to tell me-"

"Bloodbending. What _she_ was doing to me... it's called bloodbending. That's how _she_ was able to control me like a puppet.

Pietro's eyes widened in alarm. "How-"

"Something that _she_ taught me that's always stuck with me that where there is life, there's water. It doesn't matter where it comes from, if it's liquid-"

"-you can control it."

With the memories of her body moving without her control still swimming in her mind, Kya clenched her eyes shut. She felt Pietro wrap an arm around her waist and pull her closer, causing her forehead to rest on his shoulder.

The speedster's hand gently held the back of her head as he held the waterbender close, whispering softly in her ear. "I won't let that happen to you again, I promise."

Kya took a deep breath before pulling back, a tired smile stretching across her lips as she drew her knees to her chest. "You plan on sticking around?"

Pietro chuckled, raising a hand to gentle cup her cheek. "After this _Princessa_ , I'll follow you anywhere."

Seeing the sincerity in his eyes and hearing it in his voice, the silver haired woman felt heat slowly rise in her cheeks.

"You keep calling me that, _Princessa_. Why?"

A smirk spread itself across the speedster's face. "Because you are my princess."

A sudden wildfire bloomed in her cheeks, causing her to bury her face in her knees.

_I guess I was kind of asking for that..._

**-Time Skip-**

"I'm going to say this _once_."

Tony looked up from the computer. "How about 'nonce'?"

Steve took a few angry steps towards them. "Shut it down."

Tony didn't bother slowing down as he walked to another computer and began typing. "Nope, not gonna happen."

Kya stood silent as Steve continued to argue. "You don't know what you're doing."

Bruce looked disgusted as he pointed at Wanda. "And you do? She's not in your head?"

Wanda stepped forward hesitantly, "I know you're angry-"

Now Kya has only seen the calm, rationally side of Bruce Banner. So the icy tone in his voice caused her to freeze. "Oh no, we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

Kya held her hands up in surrender. "Bruce, after everything's that's happened..."

Tony shook his head. "That's nothing compared to what's coming,"

Wanda pursed her lips. "You don't know what's in there. The creature-"

Steve grit his teeth together. "This isn't a game."

Out of the corner of her eye, Kya saw Pietro roll his eyes before becoming a silver blur and dashing around the room, sparks flew through a few computers and the wires plugged into the cradle hit the floor with a thud. When Pietro stopped he was holding one final wire and glaring at Tony. "No no, go on. You were saying?"

He dropped the wire. Suddenly, there was a bang and the sound of shattering glass broke the tension. The silver haired woman's eyes widened as Pietro fell through the floor.

"Pietro!"

Both Kya and Wanda ran over to the hole in the floor. Below the waterbender saw Pietro lying on the floor with Clint standing above him, smirking. "What, didn't see that coming?"

Loud beeping caught everyone's attention, and Tony quickly turned to the computer. "I'm re-routing the upload."

Kya saw Wanda raise her hand but before she could do anything Bruce had her held tightly, "Go ahead. Piss me off."

Steve raised his arm and his shield flew through the air bouncing off from one computer to the other, Kya quickly threw an icicle at Tony's iron man hand before he could fire it at the super soldier.

Suddenly, Thor came flying through one of the glass walls and jumped onto the cradle. He held Mjölnir up, lightening surrounded it and his arm before he brought it down to the cradle, filling it with the energy from Mjölnir.

Things were silent for a spilt second. And then, the Cradle exploded open.

Kya felt a warm body wrap around her, shielding her from the blast. She looked to see Pietro with his arms wrapped around her.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded wordlessly. Peeking over his shoulder, she saw what the Cradle had created.

There was a red and green figure crouched on top of it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter before epilogue.

No one moved, Kya doubted that anyone was actually breathing. The red and green figure looked around before locking on Thor. Before anyone could react, it launched itself at the thunder god.

Thor grunted as he threw the figure off him through one of the lab windows. It free flew through the air before coming at an abrupt halt in front of a window that stared out at New York. While the figure stared out at the city, almost in a hypnotized matter, Kya wormed her way out of Pietro's arms before following the Avengers out of the lab and into the living area, the Maximoffs following her close behind.

After staring at the city skyline for a moment longer, the figure changed. It- he was suddenly wearing clothes. He turned to face the Avengers before flying in their direction. When he landed, a golden cape appeared at his shoulders.

He had a slightly confused look on his face as he looked at Thor. "I'm sorry, that was odd, thank you."

Steve stepped forward cautiously. "Thor, you helped create this?"

The Prince of Asgard pointed toward the figure's head. "I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its center... that."

"What? The gem?"

Thor turned to Bruce. "It's the Mind Stone. One of the six Infinity Stones. The greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities."

Kya didn't understand. "Then why bring it-"

"Because Stark is right."

Bruce grimaced. "Oh it's definitely the end times."

While Tony glared at his science partner, Thor turned to Steve. "The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron."

The figure spoke from next to him. "Not alone."

The waterbender's eyebrows furrowed and she took a few steps forward, slightly ignoring the fact that Pietro followed close behind. "Why does your 'vision' sound like Jarvis?"

"We reconfigured Jarvis' matrix to create something new."

Kya pursed her lips as she looked from Tony back to 'Vision'. "I think we've all had our fill of new.'

'Vision' looked at her curiously. "You think I'm a child of Ultron?"

Steve stepped forward protectively, eyes hard. "You're not?"

The same confused expression from earlier came back. Only this time, it was mixed with pain. "I'm not Ultron. I'm not Jarvis. I am..... I am."

Wanda looked at 'Vision' curiously, and Kya suddenly found herself and Pietro standing closer than they originally were before. The silver haired woman looked at the speedster curiously, but he wouldn't meet her gaze

"I looked in your head, and saw annihilation."

"Look again."

Clint's voice was hostile as he walked closer. "Yeah, her seal of approval means jack to me."

"Their powers. The horrors in our heads. Ultron himself. They all came from the Mind Stone, and they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side-"

Steve cut the thunder god off. "Is it? Are you? On our side?"

'Vision' looked a little more confused as he spoke quietly. "I don't think it's that simple."

Clint snapped. "Well it better get real simple real soon."

"I'm on the side of life. Ultron isn't. He will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?"

The creature stared hard at Tony.   
"You."

"Where?"

Clint pursed his lips. "Sokovia. He's got Nat there too."

Kya felt herself tense up. Moments later, warm fingers gently twined themselves with hers before squeezing comfortingly. Looking out the corner of her eye, she saw Pietro looking at her in concern. She felt him gently push against the walls of their bond, and opened it ever so slightly.

_'I'm fine.'_

She squeezed his hand back, and tried to ignore the fact that Clint was drilling holes into her head with his eyes.

Meanwhile, Bruce had walked over to the AI with assessing eyes. "If we're wrong about you...if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be..."

"What will you do?"

'Vision' made eye contact with each person. "I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique. And he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the earth, so he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the 'net, we have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others."

He looked down at his hands curiously. "Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are. And not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me, but we need to go."

He held out Mjölnir and everyone stared in shock and awe. Thor recovered first, and slowly took his beloved weapon from the AI. Still in a daze, he turned and clapped Tony on the shoulder. "Right! Well done."

Steve looked around to everyone. "Three minutes. Get what you need."

As everyone dispersed to get their things, Kya looked at the twins, "Follow me, we'll get you guys some better clothes."

She led them to the lockers. And, after grabbing a new suit for herself, the silver haired woman quickly left when a certain speedster removed his shirt. But not before seeing a hint of smooth muscle that his chest was made up with.

As Kya changed, she thought about what this battle could mean. _Some of us might live, some of us might die. Question is, will that be true?_

For the second time that night, she felt something brush against the walls of her mind. Immediately knowing who it was, she opened her mind. _'Did something happen?'_

Moments later, Pietro's voice echoed through her head. _'Not with me. I could feel you thinking hard about something._ _What's wrong?'_

The silver haired woman exited the room and made her way back to the lockers. The speedster was waiting for her, his sister no where in sight. She didn't feel the need to respond out loud. Besides, she liked having him in her head.

_'Nothing, just thinking about what we're going up against.'_

He took his hand in hers and squeezed it comfortingly. _'We're going against something in my home land, and I know it very well. We'll be fine.'_

Kya looked down at their joined hands before looking back at him. _'Did you mean what you said earlier? About staying?'_

Pietro stared at her and walked closer until the waterbender was gently pressed against the wall. _'Do you want me to go?'_

Blue eyes stared into blue eyes in both inward and outward silence. And then...

_'No, I don't.'_

The speedster gently cupped her face in his hand, brushing her cheekbone with his thumb. Kya's eyes drifted closed as she ever so slightly leaned into his touch. She opened her eyes just as Pietro angled her head towards his. Knowing, and wanting, what was coming next, her eyes drifted closed again. But just as his lips brushed against hers, footsteps coming down the stairs caused the two to spring apart. With the thrill of almost being caught lingering in their cheeks, the two looked in time to see Clint walk down the stairs towards the Quin-Jet.

Thinking quickly, the waterbender pressed her lips to the speedster's cheek, grinning at his startled expression. _'Stick around and you'll get your kiss.'_

Kya walked past him as Wanda came out of locker room. Behind her, she could hear the grin in his voice as he chuckled.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Once everyone was on the Quin-Jet, Steve began talking. "Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Natasha, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us."

The man out of time looked at the team that was assembled before him. "Ultron thinks we're monsters. That we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."

**-Time Skip-**

When the Avengers landed in Sokovia, the Maximoff twins immediately set to work on getting their fellow Sokovians evacuated. At one point when Kya and Pietro met up, the speedster had a very self-satisfied expression on his face, causing the waterbender to raise an eyebrow.

_'What did you do?'_

He grinned and shrugged mock-innocently. Suddenly, the ground underneath them rumbled. And then, robots everywhere.

The waterbender and the speedster shared a look with each other before attacking robots left and right. Kya lost all sense of time and really everything else - she even lost track of Pietro at one point - as she used every bending move she knew to take out the bots and protect the civilians.

Eventually, her comm came to life with Steve's voice. "Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job, tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed... walk it off."

Kya really hoped the sinking feeling in her stomach was just the fact that Sokovia was flying in the air.

As the robots all became scrap piles one-to-one, Clint's voice came over the comm. "All right, we're all clear here."

Steve's voice immediately responded back, almost sounding winded. "We are not clear! We are very not clear."

Kya quickly beheaded one last robot before turning to make her way to where the super soldier was. "Hang tight, we're coming to help."

The moment she stopped talking, Pietro had her in his arms and seconds later, picked his sister up piggy-back style and sped past Clint. "Keep up old man."

Kya rolled her eyes at the speedster's antics, who noticed this and winked cheekily. Within moments the three were stopped at a barricade with police behind cars. The Maximoffs plus the silver haired woman immediately began demolishing the robots in their path, almost not noticing the police force behind them.

"Hold your fire!"

A slower moving officer's bullet flew and shot Pietro in the arm. The 'really?' look he gave the police officer had Kya pursing her lips to keep the giggles from escaping. Eventually, there was a lull in the attacks, and the waterbender heard large familiar whirring engine noises that made her grin.

She turned and ran out to Steve and Natasha. They both looked at her and grinned as Pietro joined her and looked at the huge aircraft that ascended from the clouds. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Kya grinned and twined Pietro's fingers with hers. "This is what S.H.I.E.L.D.'s supposed to be."

The speedster smirked before brushing his lips against her temple. "This is not so bad."

Out of the corner of her eye, the silver haired woman saw Nat and Steve looking at them with raised eyebrows, the ex-red room assassin with a smug grin on her face. Looking down at the soldier and the spy's joined hands, she raised an eyebrow back, silently saying, ' _you really want to talk about this now?_ '

Natasha looked away, but the smug grin remained on her face.

Suddenly, the familiar voice of Nick Fury came over the comms. "Nice right? Pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."

Steve let out a laugh of amazement and disbelief. "Fury, you son of a bitch."

" _Ooh_ you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Colonel Rhodes voice came over the comms next. "Tony's figured out a way to blow up the city. But we have to get the people off this rock first!"

When Steve spoke, renewed determination laced his voice. "Right. I'll pass it on; get the boats ready!"

While the speedster picked up the waterbender so they could round up civilians, Sam Wilson's voice came over the comms. "Hey Cap, found something of yours."

Kya faintly heard gunshots over her comm, and then.....

"Bucky?"

Moments later, a response. "Hey punk."

" _Is that-_ "

" _What the-"_

Kya grinned.

_"Avengers, time to work for a living."_

After making sure the civilians were being loaded on to the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lifeboats, the pair made their way to the church. Upon arriving, Pietro immediately went to his sister. "You good?"

While Wanda nodded, the waterbender instantly noticed Steve and Natasha arrive, and made her way over to her surrogate mother. "Still alive?"

The red head grinned tiredly before squeezing the silver haired woman's shoulder. "Somewhat."

Grinning back, Kya looked at Bucky, who arrived with the ex-red room assassin and the man out of time. "Decided it was time to be found?"

She ignored the confused expressions of her team mates as the Winter Soldier gave her a small smile before heaving his gun with ease to rest on his shoulders. "Based on how things look, I'd say you need my help Doll."

Kya smiled back. Moments later, Bucky looked and raised an eyebrow at something over her shoulder. The waterbender turned to see Pietro giving the brunette super soldier a glare that could have curdled milk. Or at least in Bucky's case, tried to.

Tony, Thor, and the Hulk arrived moments later followed by Ultron, who flew above them as the thunder god yelled out challengingly. "Is that the best you can do?"

The homicidal AI raised his arm and swarms of robots gathered behind him, causing Kya to purse her lips irritably. "Thor, do you remember our conversation about Murphey's Law?"

At the Prince of Asgard's guilty expression, the silver haired woman sighed. "I didn't think so."

As Ultron spoke, he waved his arm indicatedly. "This is the best I could do. This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"

Tony looked at the Avengers. "Well, like the old man and the moon goddess said; together."

Hulk roared as the entire legion ran forward. For the second time that day, Kya lost sense of almost everything. She couldn't tell which gunshots belonged to Natasha and which belonged to Bucky. And the only reason she could tell the blue blurs apart was because Pietro had a hint of silver.

The seemingly endless robot ranks eventually thinned before disappearing completely, giving the Avengers a chance to catch their breath.

"We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats. I'll sweep for right behind you."

The waterbender looked at the thing that would end Sokovia. "What about the core?"

Wanda set her shoulders determinedly. "I'll protect it. It's my job."

Kya and Clint looked at her before turning away. "Nat? This way."

Meanwhile, Pietro looked at his twin grimly. "I'm not going to leave you here."

Wanda fixed her brother with a firm look. "I can handle this. Come back for me when everyone else is off. Not before. You understand."

Pietro raised an eyebrow before grinning. "You know, I'm twelve minutes older than you."

Kya smiled and gently took the female Maximoff's hand in her own before squeezing it comfortingly. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he stays safe. Be careful."

She turned back to Pietro and wrapped her arms around his neck just as he literally swept her off her feet. The waterbender felt the now familiar sensation of her breath being taken away at a fantastic speed as Pietro ran. Thin air flew through her air as the speedster came to a stop by one of the life boats and gently placed the waterbender on the ground. As Kya slid down the front of his chest, her arms remained around his neck and his remained around her waist. "If this is how our first date goes, I can't wait for the second."

The silver haired woman grinned and pressed her forehead against Pietro's. Suddenly, a civilian started calling out for someone, either a son or a little brother.

And in an instant, she remembered the vision she had what felt forever ago.

_A woman starting screaming for someone, either a son or a brother. The waterbender saw Clint look around. When he saw what he was looking for, he darted from the S.H.I.E.L.D. life boat. He picked up a little boy in his arms and turned to run back to the boat when a Quin-Jet started flying towards him and the little boy._

_Clint knew what was going to happen as the Quin-Jet got closer and closer. He turned sharply to shield the little boy when a blue-ish silver streak ran in front of him, effectively blocking Clint and the little boy from certain death._

That exact same vision played out in front of her. Clint ran out of the safety boat and darted over to where the little boy was and picked him up in his arms. The Quin-Jet that was being flown by Ultron came from nowhere. Clint saw what was going to happen. He turned sharply to try and shield the boy in his arms....

But when the dust settled, Pietro was standing in front of the archer, blood staining his shirt.

"You didn't see that coming?"

As he fell to the ground, it was like someone switched a lightbull off. Only the aftereffects were devastating.

She heard a bone chilling scream, but she heard it as if she was hearing it under water. Was that her? Or was it Wanda as she felt her twin brother leave this world?

The waterbender sprinted to where Pietro's body fell, knees scraping harshly against the ground as she slid to a stop next to him. Kya heaved the speedster into her arms before burying her face in his hair, tears streaming down her cheeks the entire time.

_I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Pietro!!!_

In her grief, she almost missed the pulse around her neck. The second time she felt it, she quickly drew back from the speedster and pulled the vile from the Spirit Oasis around her neck.

_The lifeblood of the island. It's rumored that with the waters, one could save another from the hands of death._

Kya quickly moved Pietro so he was lying flat on his back. Opening the vile, the silver haired woman bended the spirit water out and into her hands, and prayed.

_Tui, La, Spirits of my people.... Please, don't take him from me._

Kya spread the water as thin as she could to be still effective and placed on Pietro's torso. Then, she poured all of her chi, and even tapped into her life force. The water glowed with all the energy, and then there was nothing.

Her hands dropped in exhaustion, and she could feel herself falling. She heard someone call her name, and then....

Blackout.


	13. Chapter 13

Kya woke up with a start. She darted up, and a gentle hand met her shoulder.

"Easy _ребенок паук_."

The waterbender looked to see Natasha sitting next to her bed. She didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around her surrogate mother. And as Kya took shaky breaths, the red head ran a hand up and down her back soothingly. "It's okay Kya, it's over."

As the silver haired woman lightly buried her face in Natasha's shoulder, memories rushed through her head at the speed of light. _Fighting robots. Sokovia flying. Bucky showing up. Pietro-_

Realization struck the waterbender like a lightning bolt and she quickly drew back from Natasha. "Pietro-"

The ex-red room assassin smiled tiredly. "He's alive Kya."

The silver haired woman looked at her surrogate mother, hope and relief blooming in her chest. "He's alive?"

Natasha nodded. "You saved him."

Kya laid back against the pillows and sighed in relief. She reached across the bond, and could feel the speedster's life force. Sitting up, the waterbender started pulling the sheets off herself. "Can I see him?"

The moment she stood on her feet, dizziness hit her like a tidal wave. She wobbled for a spilt second before Natasha gently eased her back onto the bed. "Easy."

Kya looked at her surrogate mother in confusion. "Why do I feel so weak?"

Hardness covered the ex-red room assassin's face. But since the silver haired woman knew her so well, she could see a hint of fear. "After you healed Pietro, you passed out. Steve and Bucky caught up with Clint and helped get you and Maximoff into the life boat."

Natasha took a shaky breath before composing herself again. "The both of you were hardly breathing and your pulses were weak. Kya, you were _barely alive_."

The assassin's green eyes clenched shut as she once again tried to compose herself, only this time, it was a bit more difficult. Meanwhile, Kya was silent as what she was just told sunk in.

"And you used the Spirit water to heal him."

Green eyes looked into blue eyes. "Steve told me about the bond."

Wait.... what?!? "Natasha I can explain-"

The red head cut her off with a tired smirk. "There's nothing to explain. He loves you, clearly you love him if you're willing to gamble your life for him."

Kya froze.

_'Clearly you love him if you're willing to gamble your life for him.'_

_Love...._

_Do I love him?_

She thought back to the day they met, and how she instantly found him beautiful. She remembered when she first discovered their bond. She remembered when he cornered her in Africa and almost kissed her. She remembered when he said he loved her in Seoul.

_Yes, I do love him._

With a soft smile blooming across her face, Kya looked at her surrogate mother. "Speaking of love _and_ Steve, what happened between you two?"

**-Time Skip-**

After Natasha left, Kya had a string of visitors. Fury and Clint came in to confirm that she was alive and so Clint could wrap her in a large bear hug. Tony came in to tell her about the new Avengers Facility the team would be moving to.... And that Bruce had disappeared during the final evacuation.

She would miss him.

But she didn't see either of the Maximoff twins.

It was only after Steve visited that she finally had the chance to see them.

But it was after a conversation that she was dreading on having.

"How are you healing up?"

The waterbender smiled at the super soldier. "I'm good. I'm just tired and I feel dizzy whenever I move to quickly."

Steve returned her smile. The two were silent for a few more moments before Kya spoke again. "How's Bucky adjusting?"

"Far better than he would have been without his memory being fixed."

At the pointed look on the man out of time's face, Kya knew he knew.

"Steve I can-"

He held up a hand. "It's okay Kya. Bucky explained everything to me... And he was right, he needed time to sort things out on his own."

The silver haired woman stared cautiously at Steve, causing the super soldier to laugh. "I'm serious Kya. I... I can't thank you enough."

She smiled. "It was the least I could do... Steve?"

"Hm?"

"How's Pietro and Wanda?"

She knew that the speedster was still on the helicarrier. And if he was here, so was his sister.

Steve frowned. "No one told you?"

"Told me what?"

The super soldier sighed. "Pietro has been in a coma since Sokovia was destroyed. You did save him from dying Kya, but he himself is trying to catch up to the erractic change from being dead to suddenly being alive."

Kya laid back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. _How ironic, a man with enhanced speed trying to catch up with something._

"I need to see him."

Steve moved to stop her, but the waterbender looked him dead in the eye. "Please Steve."

The man out of time sighed before agreeing. After helping her slowly stand up, he led her to the room the Maximoffs have been staying in.

The moment Kya opened the door, a red and brown blur darted towards them and wrapped the silver haired woman in a huge hug.

"Thank you.... I can never-"

The waterbender gently rubbed Wanda's back in soothing motions. "Shhh, it's alright Wanda. It's alright."

Kya turned to look at Steve. "I'll be fine."

After he nodded before offering Wanda a comforting smile and leaving, the brunette led the silver haired woman to the side of Pietro's bed.

Kya pulled up a chair and sat next to the female Maximoff. "Has anything changed?"

Wanda somberly looked at her brother. "No, not since Sokovia."

She turned to look at Kya before shyly taking her hand in her own. "When he died, it felt like I myself had died. I ripped out Ultron's core because of it. But... when you healed him, when you saved him... it felt like I was reborn. And Kya, I can never thank you enough."

The waterbender smiled before flipping her hand over and squeezing Wanda's. "It's my job."

The female Maximoff smiled before squeezing her hand back. They both looked at sleeping Pietro.

Kya took a deep breath before squeezing Wanda's hand again. "He'll wake up."

Wanda nodded before squeezing back. "He'll wake up."

**-Time Skip-**

It was two weeks later when Pietro finally did wake up.

After Kya had convinced Wanda to take a shower and change into a fresh set of clothes, she sat in the same chair she's been sitting in for two weeks with a sigh.

"You know, weeks ago I was ready to end you and Wanda. But now... Now Wanda and I are friends. And I'm pretty sure I _don't_ want to kill you. In fact I'm pretty sure I love you."

She pressed her lips to Pietro's knuckles. "I love you Pietro Maximoff."

Kya froze when she felt his hand twitch. And then...

"It's about time _Princessa_."

The waterbender's eyes shot up to see Pietro looking at her with tired eyes and a smile. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she let out a choked sob and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, breathing in the smell of the ocean she emitted.

"Maybe I should die more often if it means you react like this."

Kya restrained herself from hitting him as she drew back from the his arms and glared. "If you die again, I'll _kill_ you myself."

Without much warning or thought, the waterbender grabbed Pietro's face and kissed him. The speedster eyes widened in surprise for a split second before kissing her back, his entire body relaxing in relief as he finally got to do what he's been aching to do from the moment they met.

Kya pulled away and pressed her forehead against Pietro's, an elated grin spreading across her lips. "Told you if you stuck around you'd get your kiss."

Pietro smiled. "Worth it."

He ran his fingers through her silver hair before asking a question he had been dreading to ask. "Sokovia?"

The silver haired woman sighed somberly. "Destroyed. But most of her citizens survived."

He said nothing. Kya gently brushed a thumb over his cheekbone comfortingly. "Pietro, you _and_ Wanda have a place with the Avengers. _You_ have a place with _me_."

For a moment, the speedster didn't say anything. Then, he smiled. "I almost didn't see that coming."

The waterbender rolled her eyes playfully before smiling back and kissing him again.

**-Time Skip-**

Kya grinned and cooed at the baby on the screen. She and Natasha were watching a video Clint had sent them, who retired a month ago when Nathaniel Pietro Barton was born.

"How are they?"

The two turned to see Steve walking towards them. Kya turned her phone off before tucking it away in one of the pockets of her suit. "They're happy... And Clint's settling into retirement surprisingly well."

Natasha snorted before looking at her boyfriend as the three of them began walking towards the training room. "So how do we look?"

The super soldier sighed. "Well, we're not the '27 Yankees, but we've got some good hitters. They're good, but they're not a team."

The red head grinned. "Let's beat them into shape then."

Kya smirked, remembering her training days under Natasha and Clint. They entered the training room to see their new line up. War Machine, Falcon, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and the one who makes the silver haired woman's heart race as fast as he does, Quicksilver.

Pietro's face lit up, grinning as their eyes met. She grinned back.

Steve looked at the team assembled before him. "Avengers..."


	14. Sequel

Hi Guys!

 

Sequel for Silver Waters is out now! It's called Silver Rivers, check it out!


	15. New one-shot book

Hi!

I've written a one-shot book for Kya x Pietro called Silver Raindrops.

Check it out!

**Author's Note:**

> Updates every Friday.


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